The Demon
by littlepinkangel
Summary: People always called Zoro a demon pirate hunter........but every rumor has to start somewhere.......Rated T just in case, rating may go up. Please R&R! WARNING CONTAINS SCENES OF TORTURE AND GRAPHIC VIOLENCE.
1. Kidnap

Disclaimer - I don't own one piece.

I liked the idea of Zoro as a demon pirate hunter, so I decided to develop the idea a bit. This first chapter has too many parts, but it won't be like that for the rest of the story.

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**The Demon**

**Chapter 1:**

The man smiled and took another sip of his wine.

_This is very interesting……….._

He gazed for a while at the piece of paper in front of him, before making up his mind.

"Kneale, I have an errand for you." He said suddenly. His voice was one that sent shivers running down your spine. So cold. So emotionless.

"Yes master?" Replied the man who appeared beside him. If he could be called a man; His skin was as black as pitch, and his eyes blood red. On his back he wore a pair of dark grey wings. He was not human.

"I want you to find this man." Ordered the master, handing Kneale the paper in his hands. "And bring him to me. Alive."

Kneale looked at the paper and grinned.

"Of course master. He shouldn't be hard to find, everyone's talking about him."

"Good, because I want him as soon as possible."

Kneale bowed and walked away. This was going to be an easy job, he thought. Taking another look at the 'wanted' poster he was holding. This guy may be wanted for 60 million Belis, but he didn't stand a chance against the powers of a demon!

* * *

Zoro lay on the deck of the Going Merry, watching the clouds float by. They were in the climate region of a spring island, and everyone was taking it easy. Well, it was hard to any work in such nice weather. Zoro didn't know how the inhabitants of the island managed to get anything done.

"Zoro!" Yelled an angry voice from below deck. Zoro groaned, maybe the inhabitants had a woman at their necks all the time, to make them work.

"I've just added up all your debts, do you have any idea how much you owe me?!" Yelled Nami as she stormed up to the swordsman.

Zoro shrugged. He wasn't in the mood for arguing.

"7 million beli's!"

Zoro's head snapped up.

"WHAT!"

"That's right, I don't know how you managed to spend that much, but you did. And what worries me is that you're never going to pay it back!"

Zoro shook his head.

"I've never spent that much, you must have added it up wrong. Either that or your lying."

Nami looked at him.

"Are you calling me a liar?" She asked threateningly

"Don't you call my Nami-San a liar, you Marimo!" Shouted Sanji, coming up onto the deck.

Zoro shighed.

"Piss off Sanji." He said off-handedly, closing his eyes in an attempt to go back to sleep.

"Don't you tell me to piss off yo-"

"-Leave it Sanji." Nami interrupted. "He's just being stubborn. Lets go."

Zoro grunted as they walked down the steps. He wasn't being stubborn, he was just telling the truth. He didn't spend that much, Nami must have added it up wrong. He grinned as he thought of Nami's face when she realised he was right. That was a face he didn't see very often.

He suddenly became aware of someone else on the deck with him.

_That's strange_. He thought. _I didn't hear anyone come up._

Lazily he opened one eye, looked at the deck, then quickly opened both. In a hurry he tried to draw his swords, but it was too late, the creature was on top of him……….

* * *

"Alright Luffy, lets go over this again. What exactly did you see?"

Luffy put his head in his hands.

"I've told you, a man flew onto the top deck, I lost sight of him for a few seconds, and then he was flying off, really quickly again with Zoro. He was so fast I couldn't stretch my arms quick enough to grab hold of him."

"And what did the man look like?"

"He was completely black, and had grey wings."

Nami sighed, about 5 minutes ago Luffy had started screaming something about a black angel taking Zoro, she thought he was being ridiculous, until she went to the upper deck and found Zoro gone. But what was more worrying was that, although Zoro was missing, his white katana was lying on the deck, unsheathed, and there was a large pool of blood.

They needed to get Zoro back, she knew that, but the only thing they had to go on was Luffy's description, and besides, they had to follow the Log Pose, if Zoro was anywhere but where the Pose was taking them, they didn't have much chance of finding him.

Nami shook her head. Why was she worrying so much? Zoro was strong; he could take care of his self. He'd been in worse situations before and got out of them O.K. Nami grinned, she didn't need to worry. Death itself could not kill that man.

* * *

Vice-Admiral Tsuru looked down at the file in her hand. Shaking her head unbelievingly.

_This was impossible._

"Are you sure this information is correct? She asked the officer who had given her the file.

"Yes Ma'm, I checked it myself, it may seem impossible, but it's true."

She read the writing again.

_Funeral date – 12th May_

_Destination – Armry Town_

_Authorized by – Father Haslam_

_Course of death – gunshot wound to the head_

_Name of deceased – Roronoa Zoro_

There was more, a whole page of it.

Tsuru couldn't believe it. According to this, the pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro, was dead.

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What do you think? Only nice comments please. The more reviews I get , the faster I'll write the next chapter! 


	2. Pain

**Disclaimer** - I do not own One Piece

Here's chapter 2, thanks for all the great comments, those who reviewed!

I'm sorry if, in this chapter, I offend any christians out there, I really don't mean to, after all, I'm a christian myself.

Please tell me if you think the story is moving too fast,if if there's too much information, this is my first try at a long fic!

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**The Demon**

Chapter 2

"WHAT!" Cried Nami.

"A demon." Repeated Robin, smiling slightly at the navigator's reaction.

From the sink, Sanji grinned.

"Oh Robin Chan, demons are just in stories, they don't actually exist." He said sweetly.

Robin frowned "Actually cook san, I did some research, there still exists one demon master. He lives not to far from here, on an island that appears to have no magnetic field."

Nami grunted.

"It's impossible for an island not to have a magnetic field." She sneered.

"Tell us more." Ordered Luffy, who was sitting quietly at the table.

"Of course Captain San." Robin got up and removed a book from the shelf. She lay it down on the table and began to flick through the pages, finally finding the one she wanted. "According to this, when you die, if the devil thinks you can be of use to him, he tries to make a deal with you."

"WAIT!" interrupted Nami. "The devil? Are you serious Robin? You didn't strike me as the kind to believe in that heaven and hell stuff."

"I don't know what I believe, but this isn't my opinion, I'm just reading from the book."

Sanji shifted so he could see the book Robin was talking about. It was written in a language he didn't recognise, but Robin obviously knew how to read it.

"Carry on." Said Luffy.

"Well, the devil tries to make a deal with you. In return for a certain amount of time back on earth, maybe 50 or 100 years, you sell him your soul. This means after the given time is up, you become his slave. These slaves all look pretty much the same; black skin, red eyes and grey wings. They're put into the service of a demon master, who gets direct orders from the devil. He's basically just a very strong demon. However, the average demon is very powerful, the devil gives them certain abilities, I'm not quite sure what they are, but it's said the weakest demon could defeat the strongest human."

"Why make them so strong?" Asked Usopp.

"These demons are representing the devil on earth, he wants to make them feared."

"Fair enough Robin, the demons you describe match the description Luffy gave, but why would a demon kidnap Zoro?" Asked Nami.

Robin sighed.

"I don't know." She said. "The only thing I can think of is if Zoro's given time is up……"

"NO WAY" Yelled Nami. "Zoro may have been called a demon pirate hunter, but he would never sell his soul to the devil! Never!"

Usopp frowned.

"Why are you acting so protective?" He asked. "You hate Zoro; just before he was taken you were arguing."

Nami looked at the floor.

"I know that ……" She said quietly. "But Zoro's nakama, I'm worried about him."

Luffy stood up.

"I've made up my mind." He said. "We're going to find this demon master, and get Zoro back."

Everyone stared at him.

"L-Luffy…" stuttered Usopp. "Didn't you hear what Robin just said? The weakest demon can defeat the strongest human, and this demon master guy is the one of the strongest demons! We don't stand a chance!"

Luffy looked at him "But Usopp." He said quietly. "He's taken Zoro."

This response subdued the group into silence. Luffy was right of course, if this guy had taken Zoro, then they needed to find him.

Usopp groaned. Why did he get the feeling he was going to get hurt?

* * *

Zoro lay there, on the floor. He couldn't move, it hurt too much; he'd lost too much blood. The past few hours had been a blur. He vaguely remembered seeing a demon on the deck, before falling into unconsciousness. 

Someone kicked him. The pain shot up through his back, such pain! He groaned loudly. Something behind him sniggered.

"Well, well, well, Mr. Roronoa, looks like you're in quite a bit of pain."

Zoro didn't reply, he was just concentrating on staying conscious, breathing took all his might.

"Don't you know it's rude to ignore someone?" Rasped the person behind him, before kicking him roughly across the floor.

Zoro couldn't take the pain any longer, unwillingly he drifted into unconsciousness.

The next time he woke he was feeling better, not much better, but at least he could lift his head. The pain was still immense, it hurt to do anything, not that he could do much. His arms were tied in a Jesus position on a wooden post, but instead of tying him with rope, his captives had used barbed wire.

_Sadistic bastards._

He looked at his arms. He'd obviously been tied like this for a while, as the wire had cut into his flesh very deeply, and it stung like hell. Zoro grimaced.

_Stung doesn't even begin to explain it._

"You're up!" Declared a voice from behind him. Zoro recognised it as the same one who had kicked him. "We were wondering how long it would take you, I must say you came round faster than anyone else has. I'm rather impressed."

Zoro glared at the man, who had just come into his line of sight. He took one look at him, and decided he would rather be boiled alive, stabbed with a thousand daggers, tortured for hours on end and finally trampled on by a stampede of 2 ton elephants than be here right now.

This guy was a demon.

_I hate demons._

* * *

"Master, I have successfully captured Roronoa Zoro. At the moment he is in room 4, being interrogated by Thamon." Kneale reported. 

The demon master smiled.

"Good work Kneale, you shall be rewarded." Kneale bowed and scurried away.

The demon master stood up and walked to the window.

_Roronoa Zoro, I have finally called in your debts, and my, don't you owe me a lot._

He smiled, Zoro owed him something much more valuable than gold.

He owed him his soul.

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What did you think? Please review (even if it's just to say hi!), but be nice! 


	3. Robin's Story

Wow! Thanks for all the great reviews you guys sent me! I tried to get this chapter up as soon as possible, but it did take a while...the next one will be up sooner.

celerystalksatmidnight - When I say 'Jesus position' I mean he is just tied to a post with his arms out, not actually being cricified, but I can see what you mean.

Qualerei - Yay! I loved your review, so nice! Hummm, I'm not sure if Nami will drop Zoro's dept after all this, she may lighten it though... Will Robin have all the answers? You'll have to wait and find out!

Dianna - Alot of critisism in this review...I get what you mean on some of it. The second chapter is not the best thing I've written, and this chapter definatly flows better (I think.). But please stop asking me to explain WHY everything happens, if I did that the story would only be 3 chapters long! You get the answers to things as the story develops. For example, you said it was strange that Robin just happened to convenieantly have the book they needed, in this chapter it explains where she gets it.(And the book is very relevant to the rest of the story).

I hope you like this chapter better.

To everyone else that reviewed - I'm so glad you like the story! Sorry this chapter to a while, I'll get the next one up sooner, I promise!

WARNING - THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SCENES OF TORTURE.

**Disclaimer** - I (suprise, suprise) do not own one piece.

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**The Demon**

Chapter 3

Zoro looked worryingly at the whip in the demons hand. It was made out of thick leather, and was covered in little metal spikes. Just thinking of the pain it could cause made the dark room seem a lot darker – and Zoro had a feeling pretty soon he wasn't just going to be thinking it…..

"Do you like my weapon Zoro?" Grinned the demon. "It might not be well made, but it does the job. Would you like to see how it works?"

Zoro stared at his captor. What was this guy doing? Zoro could tell just by looking at him that he was a demon of no rank, and if he was using a weapon, his powers couldn't be that strong either. Why was he trying to threaten him? Didn't he know who he was?

The demon laughed, "I can tell by the way you're looking at me you're surprised Zoro!" He gave a nasty smile and walked right up close to the swordsman, so close Zoro could feel his breath on his cheek.

"My orders come straight from the master." He snarled, waiting a moment for the sentence to sink in, before contently whispering; "You have no power here any more."

* * *

Luffy stared out at the ocean, watching the waves lapse gently against the side of the hull. The sun was setting slowly in the west, causing the sky to turn a crystal shade of pink. A Seagull flew over the deck, coming to rest on the mast, the scene was so beautiful, and yet Luffy couldn't enjoy it. Zoro was missing. He'd seen him be taken away. He'd stood there and watched his friend get kidnapped, that's what was bothering him. He was supposed to be the captain! He was supposed to protect his crew, and yet his first mate had been stolen from right under his nose, and he let it happen. Why didn't he do something! 

He heard footsteps behind him.

"Navigator San says we should reach the next island by tomorrow afternoon." Informed Robin as she came to stand next to him.

"Good." Answered Luffy. He wasn't in the mood for talking. But there was one thing he did want to know…

"Robin, where did you get that book?"

Robin looked surprised at the question, then looked down at her feet. For a while she said nothing, Luffy was beginning to think she wouldn't answer, until finally she looked up.

"About 5 years ago I met a demon. He was in bad shape, bleeding everywhere, most of his bones broken; he looked like he'd been tortured." She stopped for a moment, remembering the poor creature she had seen, then continued.

"We were in the ruins of an old city, I don't know how he got there, since there was no one else around, he must have been there for a while…. Anyway, he knew he was going to die, so he gave me that book. He told me it was important. He asked me to give it to the leader."

"Who's the leader?"

Robin sighed. "I don't know, he passed away before I could ask any more." Robin's face began to crack. "Luffy" She whispered, "Have you ever seen a demon die?"

Luffy shook his head. "No, I never even knew they existed."

Robin hung her head. "It's horrible, because they're not actually alive, so they can't really die. They….they erode, quickly, until there's nothing left….just dust. Can you imagine Luffy? One second they're alive, and talking to you, then the next they're silent, and then…suddenly…their skin rots, their eyes decay and disappear, they become covered in maggots, their teeth fall out, their bones turn like dust. It's…..the worst thing I've ever seen, truly….revolting. I can't describe it."

Luffy reached over and patted Robin's hand.

"Don't worry." He said. "You won't have to see that again." Robin looked at him. He said those words with such meaning, so seriously. She knew he would protect her, he would protect all of them, and he would defiantly find Zoro.

"You know..." Said Luffy, breaking her train of thought. "You saying that, has just made me feel a whole lot better."

"Why is that captain san?"

"Because now I know…demons can die. I can kill them."

* * *

Zoro frowned. He had no power here any more? What did that mean? Unless….No! Had Kazuo gone back on his word? He would kill him if he had! Anger started to show on his face. The demon laughed. 

"I'm getting bored of talking Zoro, how about I show you what my whip can do?"

And with that he brought the whip up over his shoulder and sliced it down over Zoro's chest. Zoro screamed at the pain as the spikes dug into his skin and ripped at the flesh, leaving gaping holes where the blood was quickly pumping out. The demon smiled and did it again. As much as he tried to stop himself, Zoro couldn't help screaming. His chest was on fire! The pain was so immense, so intolerable! He wished a thousand deaths on the demon as he brought his whip up and struck again. The agony of having the cold, sharp metal forced into his body once again was torment. He had dealt with pain before, but not like this, not on an already suffering body.

The demon repeated the action, again, and again, and again, and again. Zoro's eyes turned red, the amount of blood was unreal! He couldn't stand this! The barbed wire was digging into his arms the more he struggled, but he couldn't stay still! Surly there would be no skin left on his chest by now!

The demon stood back and looked at his work. Zoro's entire chest was red. Not just from blood, but from where the skin had been ripped off showing the muscle underneath. The swordsman's head was hung, as if he couldn't hold it up, Thamon wasn't surprised. The pain must be unbearable.

He took a knife out of his pocket and walked up to the pirate.

"You have quite a scar there Zoro. Well, what's left of it."

He laughed. "It looks like it almost cut you in half!"

Zoro remained silent.

"How about I re-open it for you?"

_NO! He wouldn't!_

Thamon reached up and stabbed the knife straight into Zoro's shoulder, where the top of the scar was. Zoro screamed in pain. As if he hadn't suffered enough! The cold knife seemed to burn as the demon slowly dragged it down his chest. It felt like he was being cut in half. When Mehawk had given him the wound it had been painful, but he had done it quickly, in one slice. This was just unnatural, the pain was immeasurable! It didn't stop!

When the cut was done the demon stepped back and dropped his knife.

"I hope you enjoy your stay Zoro." He said sweetly as he made his way out of the room, leaving behind a destroyed and spiritless pirate hunter.

* * *

The demon master sat in his chair, drinking some more wine. Was it a good idea to bring Zoro here? Probably not, but he had done it now, there was no going back. 

He hadn't been to see Zoro's 'interrogation', he didn't want to. Seeing that kind of thing could make you do something you regret.

Sighing he looked at the wanted posters again. Zoro's captain, Monkey D. Luffy, was wanted for 100 million belis. That was one of the highest bounty's he'd ever seen. Would he try to rescue his first mate? The demon master doubted it. Most pirates were the same; when they found out they had to fight a demon, they ran for the hills. He doubted this one would be any different. But still. This guy did have a higher bounty than any other pirate he'd met, maybe he would be different……

He shrugged, even if this guy did come here, he would he dealt with easily.

There was a knock on the door behind him.

"Come in." He said.

Kneale opened the solid oak doors and walked in, dragging a man in tied up with rope behind him.

The master frowned. What was this?

The man looked in his thirties, with mousey brown hair and an average build. There was nothing special about him, so why had Kneale brought him here?

"Master." Said the demon. "We believe this man to be a member of the brotherhood. He has been found with numerous books on demons and gallons of holy water in his house, which he hid inside a basement with a hidden trap door. We also know that once every 2 months, other humans would gather at his house. We believe these to be secret brotherhood meetings."

The demon master was, to say the least, shocked by this news, but be made sure his face didn't show it. Slowly he stood up and walked over to the man, who was quivering on the floor.

"Is this true?" He asked.

The man looked up, staring at his captor.

"Yes." He whispered, and then, getting a bout of courage, yelled;  
"And the brotherhood will never die! We will continue to fight you demons until every one of you is sent back to hell! Our ancestors found a way to get rid of you all and we will do the same!"

Silence.

"Really?" Grinned the demon master. "In that case, I will have to get rid of all of these troublemakers, once and for all."

And with that his raised his arm as a black swirl of energy began to radiate from his fingertips. Then, quick as lightning, he pulled his arm down, slicing the man clean in two, as if he was made of butter.

"Clear this mess up!" He ordered Kneale, kicking the body as if to make sure it was dead (Although, being cut in half, there wasn't much chance of it being alive), before storming out of the room in obvious fury. Finding out that the brotherhood was very much still in operation had darkened his mood. As if he didn't have enough to worry about!

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Please review and tell me what you think. Only nice comments please!

Do you think the rating should go up? I don't want to get reported or anything...

Originally, I was thinking of having a bit of ZoroxNami, but on second thought, it might ruin the story. What do you think?


	4. Information

I know I said I'd have this up quickly, but I've had so much coursework! I'll get the next chapter

up ASAP!

I'm going to follow your advice and not put any romance in...it would ruin the darkness of the story.

**Disclaimer** - I don't own One Piece, please don't sue me.**

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**The Demon**

Chapter 4

Sanji sighed as he walked out the shop. They had finally made it to the next island. It was a very quiet, subdued place, and, despite the warm weather, no one was smiling. However, according to Robin, the demon master's island was located somewhere around here. There was only one problem; the lack of a magnetic field. The log pose wouldn't be able to lead them there; they had to find another way.

Sanji had been asking shop after shop for any information on an island with no magnetic field (he decided it was best to leave the demons out of it), but he had had no luck. It wasn't that the shop keepers didn't know anything, it was just that they refused to tell him.

His questions were either met with a worried look and him being quickly pushed out the door, or the keepers simply ignoring him until he got fed up and walked out himself.

Either way, he wasn't getting anywhere.

Turning the corner, he saw a small, delicate, spice shop. The rich aromas coming from it were intoxicating, and, despite wanting to carry on walking, he found his legs taking him to the entrance.

Inside it was dark and musky, but still had that enduring fragrance. The walls were piled high with bottles of powder; some blue, some red, some more than one colour, but all unique.

"May I help you?" Asked a voice from behind the counter. Sanji turned round. It came from a pale, old woman. Her white hair had been piled in wisps on the back of her head, framing her face perfectly. Her skin was wrinkly, but not horribly so, and posture was that of an aristocrat. This woman had been beautiful once, that was evident, and she had taken good care of herself, but age had finally caught up with her.

"Yes….um…I was wondering if you could answer a question for me?"

The woman's eyes narrowed.

"Well, that would depend what it is, wouldn't it?" She said.

"That's true, but you have to promise to answer it, before I tell it to you. Could you do that?"

The woman was getting evermore suspicious. "I promise you it's nothing bad……or at least, I don't think it is." Sanji said, trying to make the lady agree.

"I will answer it to the best of my ability." She repied.

Sanji nodded, it was the best he was going to get.

"Can you tell be about an island off this one. An island with no magnetic field?"

The woman's eyes shot open. She stared at Sanji in disbelief for a while, before asking;

"Why do you want to know?"

Sanji eyed her up, wondering whether to tell her the truth or not. In the end he decided it would do no harm.

"My friend's gone missing," _I can't believe I just called Zoro my friend! _"And we think he's at that island. We really need to find him as fast as possible."

The woman started shaking her head.

"Boy, if your friend is at that island, he's dead. Give up, go home, where you're safe."

"But that's the problem, we're not going to give up, especially not our captain. He'll go to the ends of the earth to bring him back."

The woman came out from behind the counter and walked right up to Sanji.

"Boy, do you know who resides on that island?" She asked.

Sanji was starting to become annoyed with being called 'boy', but he let it rest and answered the question.

"Demons."

"I said _who_ boy, not what."

Sanji was rather taken back by this, who was it that lived on the island?

"Um….the demon master?"

"And what is a demon master?"

Sanji thought about it, trying to remember what Robin had said.

"A very strong demon that controls weaker demons." He finally answered.

The women smiled. It was not a nice smile; it was one that sends shivers running through your spine.

"You're right." She said. "Now let me tell you something. 20 years ago, the demon master living on that island fell in love. The couple were soon married and 9 months later had a son. However, the mother died in childbirth, and the father has hated his son ever since. He blames him for his wives death." She stopped. "That's it." She said. "Now leave, before you get hurt."

Sanji turned and walked out the shop. What was that lady on about? Something about a baby? Who knows? She must be crazy!

Shaking his head in frustration, he decided to head back to the ship. Maybe someone else will have had better luck than him.

* * *

Zoro wearily lifted his head. He had been chained to the wall in a small cell, made entirely of concrete with a thick steel door. His chest had been bandaged, and felt better. Vaguely. 

_How could_ _Kazuo do this?_

He started to well up with anger when he thought of the man. When he thought of how much he hated him. He calmed himself down.

_Getting angry won't get me anywhere._

His thoughts drifted to his crew.

_Will Luffy come and get me?_

Yes, was his immediate answer. Of course he would. He hadn't given up on Nami,and Zoro was sure he wouldn't give up on him.

_Do I want him to come and get me?_

No. He didn't. It wasn't that he didn't want to get out of here; he wanted that more than anything! But he didn't want his friends to get hurt either. He knew Luffy was strong, but he just wasn't strong enough. No human can beat the powers of a demon.

_Humans aren't supposed to be able to beat merman either._

He sighed. If Luffy wanted to come, he wouldn't be able to stop him anyway. No one would. He'd just have to hope Kuzeo was in a good mood when he came.

_Unlikely._

* * *

The straw hats sat on the deck of the 'Going Merry'. They were not in a good mood. For 2 days now they had been trying to find this island, but no-one would tell them anything! They had tried asking politely, they had tried threats, they had tried bribes, they had even tried blackmail! Nothing worked! The whole crew was tired and fed up. 

"Would you like some coffee, Robin Chan?" Sanji asked Robin, who was sitting on a deck chair, reading the book she got off the demon.

"Yes please, cook san." She replied, smiling at the younger man. "That would be lovely."

As Sanji walked up to the kitchen, Robin looked around at the crew. Since Zoro had gone the atmosphere had been so subdued. It was as if everyone was afraid to say anything. Nami was reading the newspaper on another chair, Usopp and Chopper were fishing, silently. And Luffy was sitting on his usual spot, the goats head. Their captain had been hit the worst by Zoro's disappearance, he didn't say anything unless spoken to, he didn't eat, didn't sleep. The slim boy had lost so much weight it was a wonder he could stand up.

Sanji came down with her coffee.

"Thank-you cook san." She said.

Sanji stood beside her for a while; she could tell he wanted to say something.

"Is there something bothering you cook san?" She asked.

"Yes…..there is." He replied. "Yesterday, I met this woman. She told me a story, about the demon master on the island."

Robin frowned.

"Why haven't you said anything before now?"

"Because the story seemed irrelevant……I didn't really understand why she told it me. It didn't help."  
"Well, why don't you tell me what she said and we can try and figure it out."

Sanji smiled.

"O.K., the demon master fell in love, they got married and had this kid, but-"

"Wait!" Robin cried, stopping him mid sentence.

"What is it Robin Chan."

"You said the demon master had a child?"

"Um…yes, that's what the story's about. The mother died in childbirth and he's hated his son ever since."

"But Sanji, that doesn't make sense. The demon master is just a very strong demon, and technically demons are dead. They can't have children."

Sanji stared at her. If demons can't have children, then how can the demon master have a son?

"Then the woman was probably lying." He said. "It's no big deal, we're just back where we started."

"Prehaps..." Said Robin quietly. Sanji looked at her, she was figreing something out, trying to piece it togther, he could tell. Finally, after a silence, she said something;

"Sanji, this book I've been reading, it seems to be a diary. It looks like the man who wrote it became a demon after he died, and carried on writing it. It's very strange……..It seems that when this demon was alive, he was in some kind of group or cult. He calls it 'The Brotherhood'. He lived around 700 years ago, about 100 years after the void century. By the looks of things, there weren't many demons round then, but listen to this;" She read out an extract from the page open in front of her;

"He is moving swiftly, gathering more and more forces to him every passing moment. We never dreamed he would dare come to earth, but he has. He knows we can kill demons, but it seems our ancestors attack 150 years ago didn't finish him, only crippled him. Now he is getting more and more minions. If only our ancestors left us some clue as to what they did! Now we have to content ourselves with picking off demons one by one, instead of wiping them all out like they did."

She stopped and looked up at Sanji.

"It seems," She said, "That this 'brotherhood' was set up to kill demons. By what this man is saying, sometime in the void century, they found a way to eliminate all the demons at once, however, they left no record as to how they did this. They probably thought they didn't need too, after all, if all the demons are gone, they won't need to fight one again."

Sanji frowned. "But the demons came back?"

Robin nodded. "Yes, but what's troubling me is this line; 'We never dreamed he would dare come to earth, but he has.'"

"Why is that troubling you?" Asked Sanji.

"Because, after the demons make their deal, they come straight to earth, they don't hang around in hell. Also, all at this point, all the demons are dead. It only leaves one person."

"Who?"

"The devil."

Sanji stared at her.

"You're not serious! The devil!" He cried.

"There's another reason why I think that." She said. "Demons can't have children, but the devil can."

* * *

Please review, no nasty comments please! Constructive critisism welcome! 


	5. A Visit To The Spice Shop

Sorry for the wait, I tried to get this chapter up days ago, but for some reason it wouldn't upload. Not my falt!

ENJOY!!!

**Disclimer** - I don't own One Piece.**

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**

**The Demon**

Chapter 5

Kuzeo stood by the window. It was his favourite spot; he could look over the whole island from here. His demons were doing, well, not much, to be honest. He already had control over the local island, so his minions didn't have much to do. Some were training, others sleeping, most were gambling.

He sighed. Knowing that the brotherhood was still around was bugging him. It wasn't that he feared them, but they were very annoying. The stunt they pulled in the void century had really set back his plan; they got rid of all of his demons! He had to start all over again, recruiting from scratch. That had taken him time, but now he finally had enough. The plan was in place. The only thing he needed to do now was take care of Zoro.

His first thought had been to kill him, but when he realised how strong the young man had got, he decided it would be better to enslave him; take his soul and make him a demon. The only reason Kuzeo wasn't doing that right now was because he didn't know if it would work. Alright, so technically Zoro WAS dead, he was shot in the head 4 years ago. But he still had his doubts….

"Master." Said a voice behind him. Kuzeo groaned. Kneale had been annoying him recently. Alright, so the guy was his second in command, but that doesn't mean he could walk around like he owned the place.

"What?" He growled.

"There have been reports of a pirate crew asking for information about this island..."

Kuzeo's head shot up. A pirate crew? It couldn't be Zoro's crew could it?

"What is their mark?" He asked.

Kneale looked at a notebook in his hands.

"A skull with a straw hat." He answered.

Kuzeo grinned. So it was Zoro's crew. They had come to get him. He was looking forward to meeting them, especially Monkey D. Luffy, the man with 100 million bellis on his head. Maybe they would take his mind off the brotherhood….

"Kneale, I want you to invite them in."

Kneale stared at his master in disbelief. Invite them in? Why would he want to invite them in? Why not just kill them? He moved to say something, but thought better of it. He knew what his master could be like if he thought you were defying him.

"Of course master, I'll do it right away." He said, bowing and walking out.

Kuzeo continued to stare out the window. He needed to do something with Zoro before the strawhats got here, but would this enslavement work? If it didn't, it could have disastrous consequences; tearing Zoro's soul in two. Still what did he care? Zoro was going to die anyway; he might as well have a go at turning him into a minion. It wasn't like he had anything better to do….

* * *

The old woman looked at her visitors with amusement. It had been a long time since she'd had this many people in her spice shop, and they certainly were an odd group. There was a teenager, with black hair and a straw hat, by the way the rest of them looked at him, he seemed to be in charge. Next to him was the man she had talked to a few days earlier, he was smoking a cigarette, and looking fairly calm about all this. She saw two women, one had orange hair, she looked annoyed, but why, the women had no idea. The other one was older and had black hair, she was looking around the shop with interest. Located at the back was a teenager with a long nose, he seemed, well, terrified, although, as far as the women could tell, there was nothing to be afraid of. They also had a reindeer with them, maybe as a mascot? Yes, this was defiantly an odd group. 

"Are you the woman who knows about the demon master?" Asked the boy in the straw hat.

She turned her focus away from the reindeer and onto him.

"Who wants to know?" She replied.

"I do. My name's Luffy, I'm looking for my friend."

The woman grinned.

"Yes." She smirked. "I remember him saying." She indicated to Sanji. "But like I said to him, you're wasting your time, your friend's dead."

The boy shook his head.  
"No." He replied. "Zoro doesn't die."

The woman's head snapped up. She gazed at Luffy for a few seconds, her eyes open with fear.

"What did you say?" She whispered.

Luffy frowned at the women. He'd obviously scared her, but he couldn't figure out why.

"He said Zoro doesn't die." Robin called from behind him, "And I think you have something to say about that." She finished, walking up to the counter.

The woman looked down.

"This Zoro……….is he the friend you're looking for?" She asked.

"Yes." Replied Robin. "Our swordsman, Roronoa Zoro."

The woman gasped upon hearing Zoro's full name, much to the surprise of the crew. Surly Zoro couldn't be _that _feared!

"You must leave." She suddenly yelled. "Now! Go! Quickly! Your friend has no hope! LEAVE!"

Luffy stood still. He glared at the women.

"No." He replied.

The woman seemed frantic now, continuously looking over her shoulder, as if to see if anyone was there. She obviously wanted the strawhat's to leave, and quickly.

"Please, not just for your sake, but for the sake of the whole island! I beg of you to leave!"

Luffy walked up to the woman, who was baking her self against the wall, and stared her right in the eye.

"Why are you so scared?" He asked. The woman looked at him in surprise. The boy seemed, worried about her. She couldn't imagine why, they had only just met! And yet his voice……it sounded concerned.

"We're not going to hurt you." He continued. "And we won't let anybody else hurt you either. We just want our friend back."

The old woman looked up at him.

"Why ?" She asked. "Why do you want him back so badly? Don't you realise you could be killed?"

Luffy was silent for a while. He thought of the best way to answer the question.

"Because," He finally replied. "He's nakama."

The whole room went silent. Luffy's words had hit a nerve. The woman was touched. Just by that one sentence, she could tell that this boy would do anything to get his nakama back. The rest of the group knew it to, and looked at the straw hat kid with pride.

"Alright." She said. "I'll tell you what I know……….but, I know a lot, where do I start?"

"Tell us how you know Zoro." Said Robin.

The woman stared down at her feet.

"What a question to start with!" She joked, forcing some fake laughter. "How do I know Zoro? Well………..He's my grandson."

The group stared at her.

Grandson?

Zoro was her grandson?

She was Zoro's grandmother?

Grandson?

The crew was in shock.

Usopp was the first to speak.

"What? Zoro's your grandson! But………how? Zoro was born in the East Blue!"

The woman nodded.

"Yes, that is true. They have the best hospitals in the world. But that didn't save her………" The woman's voice trailed off.

Sanji stared at her in disbelief, remembering the words she had told him the other day…

'_The couple were soon married and 9 months later had a son. However, the mother died in childbirth, and the father has hated his son ever since. He blames him for his wives death.'_

He gave a sideways glance to Robin, trying to catch her eye, but she was staring at the lady. After their discussion last night they decided it was best simply to tell everyone that a woman in town had some information on the demon master – it was better to leave her strange story out of it. However, this meant that none of the other members of the crew knew about the demon master having a child.

_Could that child be Zoro?_

No! Of course not! Zoro the son of the devil! HA! No way!

_And yet…_

Doubt crawled at his mind, he hated this feeling! Not knowing what was going on drove him insane!

"I take it you are his mothers mother?" Said Robin

"Yes." Answed the lady.

"And who is his father?"

The whole crew looked at her. They were all curious to find out themselves. They knew next to nothing about Zoro's family, they knew next to nothing about Zoro as well….

"His father…."

The crew held their breaths.

"His father's name is Kuzeo."

* * *

Please review! Constructive critism welcome! 


	6. Conversation

Sorry the last chapter was really short, I had a sort of writers block when I was writing it, this one should be longer.

Remember - _italics is Zoro thinking_

ENJOY!

**Disclaimer** - I still don't own One Piece**

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**The Demon**

Chapter 6

Zoro wearily lifted his head.

He was standing there.

In front of him.

In his cell.

That man.

His father.

Kuzeo.

"Hello Zoro." He smirked.

_Go away._

"It's been a while, wouldn't you say?"

_Not long enough._

"Are you not even going to talk to me?"

_No_

"Trying to play the strong and silent type?"

_Trying to play the 'leave me alone' type._

"It doesn't make you look any tougher, you know."

_I'm not trying to look tough._

"Well if you won't talk, you can listen."

_Oh God._

"You've got a lot stronger Zoro."

_Do my ears deceive me or was that a compliment?_

"You may be of some use to me."

_So that's what he wants._

"Are you willing to serve under me?"

_He has to be kidding._

"Either that, or you may get an untimely second death."

_I'd prefer that._

"But knowing you, you'd rather choose that, am I right?"

_Yes, you are, now have a gold star._

"Still, even if you won't go willingly, I may as well try."

_Try it, and you're dead._

"I can do a special kind of enslavement that makes you a mindless zombie, following my every command without question. Would you like that?"

_Oh yes! I would love that! Please turn me into a zombie!_

"But I'm still not sure if it will work. After all, I've never tried it on a half-devil before."

_Don't call me that._

"But I may as well give it ago, I have nothing to loose."

_I do!_

"Oh Zoro, you do make me laugh! Have you forgotten I can read your mind?"

_Shit._

"Will you talk to me now?"

Zoro grumbled. Talking was the last thing he wanted to do. However, if he wanted to keep his soul, he may have to come to an agreement.

"Whatever." He replied.

Kuzeo grinned.

"Good, now tell me, how are you finding life back home?"

Zoro gave his father the worst pirate hunter/ pirate/ half-devil look he could muster. How was he finding life back home? He'd been kidnapped, beaten, tortured, locked in a freezing cold cell and had just been told he was going to have his soul removed. Oh life was great!

The devil smiled.

Zoro cursed inwardly, he had to stop talking to himself; Kuzeo could hear every word!

"I'm sorry your stay hasn't been too enjoyable, but I really have no reason to let you stay in comfort. This is the best I could do."

"Humph."

"Now about your enslavement…."

* * *

The leader looked at the boy in disbelief. What he said couldn't be true, could it? 

"Are you sure?" He asked.

The boy nodded.

"Yes sir. Harrison was found out; Kuezo killed him 2 days ago."

The leader put his head in his hands. How could this have happened? Harrison was dead?

He sighed.

"Thank -you Jason, you can go."

The boy turned and walked out of the small study. The leader watched him go. He had wondered many a time whether to ask the Jason to leave, to tell him it was too dangerous for a child, but he could never bring himself round to it. Jason's parents had both been killed by demons; he wanted to avenge their death, and who was he to stop him! Besides, the boy was useful; he had eaten a devil's fruit.

The leader turned to face his comrades. There were 3 of them, all sitting round a dark, wooden table, each one looking more grave than the next.

The one nearest to him was a woman called Chika. Slim, pretty and in her early forties, she had been through hard times recently, both of her children having been tortured and finally killed by Kuezo. He knew she was a member of the brotherhood, but he didn't know where she was, so he attacked her family instead.

Isamu was a strong man in his late twenties. His hair was short and black, setting off his square jaw. He wore a sleeveless shirt to show off his toned arms; he was strong, and he knew it.

The third was Michiko, a sad looking, fair, blonde girl who seemed around 17, although no one knew her exact age. She had a strange aura around her, as if she was wise beyond her years, it was this that had got her so far up the brotherhood.

The leader sat with them. This group was his counsel. They were the highest ranking members of the brotherhood, and they had a problem.

"What shall we do?" Asked the leader. "Now that Harrison's dead, we only have Aya on Richo Island, and I don't want to put her in danger."

The rest of the group nodded. Aya was an old woman now, and although Kuzeo may treat her more kindly that most humans, he wouldn't hold back if he found out she was working for them.

The problem was, Harrison had been had been trying to find information on a certain diary that they believed to be in Kuzeo's possession. He had also been holding meetings, trying to others to join, but that wasn't as important. Now he was dead, they needed to get someone else onto Richo Island, to be their inside man, other wise they'd never find the diary they needed so badly.

The leader sighed. "Chika, get in touch with Aya, see if she can search Harrison's house, he may have left something useful behind."

The woman nodded and went into the back room, where a den den mushi was waiting for her. She quickly picked up the receiver and dialled in the correct number.

Meanwhile, the rest of the counsel was waiting in silence, they were all grieved by the news of Harrison's death, especially Michiko. Harrison had been like a father to her, raising her from an early age, teaching her about demons, teaching her how to fight. As she thought of him, she tried to hold back tears, why did he have to die? Kuzeo had taken everything from her. What gave him the right to ruin her life like this?

Suddenly she lifted her head. She heard, no, felt something happen. Something bad. She had been able to do this ever since she could remember, she knew when Kuzeo was taking a soul. It was not a nice feeling.

"What is it Michiko?" Asked the leader, seeing the look on her face.

"Kuzeo, "She replied, "He has taken another soul."

The leader shook his head. This was happening way too often. They needed to stop it.

Chika returned to the study.

"I have some news." She said.

The group looked at her.

"Good news or bad?" Asked Isamu.

Chika thought about it.

"It depends how you interpret it." She replied. "Kuzeo has brought Roroanoa Zoro back to his island."

The room was scilent.

"But…..Roroanoa Zoro's dead." Stammered the leader.

"Yes, but it seems he made a deal with his father after he died."

The group looked around at each other. Why would Zoro make a deal with Kuzeo? He hated the guy!

"It also seems, "Chika continued "That he joined up with a pirate crew, and this crew has gone to get him."

Isamu snorted. A loyal pirate crew! He had never heard of such a thing!

"I bet they'll be running away when they find out who they're dealing with." He sneered.

"No." Said Michiko. Everyone turned to look at her, she had a far away, distant face, as if she wasn't really with them. "The captain, he is willing to fight Kuzeo, no matter how strong he is. He knows he will win, because losing isn't an option." She stared at the faces surrounding her. "I don't know how I know this, but we need to contact them. They can help us."

The leader gazed at the young woman in front of him. Michiko was special, she had some sort of ability, she knew things she shouldn't, and she hadn't been wrong yet.

"O.K." He said. "Chika, find some way of contacting this pirate crew, Isamu, get a message to all of our members, tell them to be ready to fight at a moments notice, Michiko, that soul Kuzeo took a moment ago, see if you can find it's owner." The counsel nodded and stood up; going about the jobs they'd just been given. Soon the leader was alone in his study. He thought about what Chika had said; Zoro was back on Kuzeo's island. He thought of a way he could use this to his advantage. Zoro had never worked for the brotherhood before, nor had he shown any interest in wanting to, but the boy was strong, after all, he was a half-devil. And although the brotherhood knew how to defeat demons, they had no idea how to get rid of a devil. They only person who knew that had been killed 5 years ago. His disguise had been broken, Kuzeo had found out he was a spy. He was however, supposed to have kept a diary……

Perhaps, he thought, Zoro would be strong enough to defeat his father. That was, if he was still alive.

* * *

Kuzeo looked at the jar he was holding. Inside was a silvery white ball, slowly rotating the perimeter of the flask. He smiled. Zoro's soul had been much easier to remove than he thought. His fears of it not working because he wasn't completely human had been eradicated. Zoro was now his mindless slave, he could do with him what he wished, and he had a lot of things he wanted him to do. 

But first, he needed to break the news to Zoro's crew. They wouldn't be too impressed, after all, he'd just taken their first mate, but they would have to live with it. Kneale was supposed to be inviting them for something to eat, so he needed to make sure his chefs knew to cook enough food for…….how many of them were coming? He thought about it; an average pirate crew would have about 40 members, but this crew was considered much more of a threat, so there would probably be more. After some thought, decided to have enough food for 100, it was better to be safe than sorry!

He looked once again at the soul in the glass, before labelling it and placing it the cupboard with the rest of them. After the meeting with Straw hat Luffy, he could get on with his final plan, and Zoro would defiantly come in handy.

* * *

Please review! The more reviews I get, the faster I'll write the next chapter (Hint, Hint) 


	7. Demon Calling

SNOW DAY!!! WOOOOOOO!

It's been snowing so hard school's been closed and we've had the whole day playing in the snow! Yay! It's still snowing now infact, but not very heavilly. (Why it snows in Febuary and not December and January is beyond me.) Anyway, sorry this took so long to update - I don't have much time to write it and people have been asking for the chapters to be longer. I'm trying to find a happy medium, how does 5-6 days sound?

**READ THIS** - On monday 12th till saturday 17th I'll be on holiday, so I wont be able to update in that time as the hotel we're staying in dosn't have a computer. But I'll take a pen and paper and write out the next chapter so I can just type it up when I get back. Anyway...On with the chapter!

ENJOY!

**Disclaimer** - This is getting boring. No, to anyone out there who thinks I do own One Piece, let me tell you, I don't.**

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**The Demon**

Chapter 7

Luffy stared at the sword in his hands. He'd never really looked at it before. It was Zoro's. His white one, the one he had when Luffy first met him. It hadn't been destroyed by Mehawk, which was defiantly a good thing, as it meant a lot to Zoro. Luffy didn't know why; he'd never asked him, nor did he want to. If Zoro wanted him to know where he got this sword he would tell him; it wasn't Luffy's place to ask.

He looked at the handle, it seemed to be black, with some sort if white material wrapped around it, presumably for grip. It was very well made; even Luffy – who knew nothing about swords – could tell that. However, he got the feeling that it wasn't its cost that made it important to Zoro.

Luffy sighed and put the sword back in the box. They had found it on the deck Zoro had been on when he was kidnapped. Luffy presumed he had taken it out to defend himself, but must have dropped it before he was taken. The crew had wondered for a while what to do with it. They had to keep it safe, obviously, but it was deadly sharp and they didn't have its scabbard; they needed somewhere to put it so it wouldn't hurt anyone. Eventually, Nami had gone out and bought a sword case, it wasn't very well made, and she had admitted that she'd got it second hand (after all, they didn't need to spend a lot of money, they'd only use it until Zoro got back). Even though he saw the sense in it, Luffy still didn't like putting Zoro's prized possession in such a horrible box. It seemed like an insult to his first mate, after all, he wouldn't like it if someone put his hat in a dirty, cheap, second hand, case. No, he wouldn't like it at all. Still, he didn't have much choice, he couldn't use a sword, and neither could anyone else on the ship, so they had to keep it somewhere.

He lay back on the deck and looked up at the sky. The sun was setting. It was yet another day that they had gone without Zoro, this made 4.

He thought about today. It had been an eye-opener for all of them. They had met Zoro's grandmother; she said her name was Aya. She had told them about Zoro's father, Kuzeo, she said he was the demon master they were trying to find out about. That had been a shock. Luffy would never have thought that Zoro was related to a demon. Alright, so he was known as a demon pirate hunter, but he'd never really possessed any demon-like qualities, so to speak.

Then Robin had asked how that was possible. She told Aya that she knew demons couldn't have children, so how could Zoro be the son of one?

Aya had taken a while to answer.

What she finally said had stilled the group to silence. After her answer, they knew why she was so scared.

'_Kuzeo is the devil.'_

He had left after that. He didn't want to hear any more. He didn't care who Zoro's father was. He only cared about Zoro.

_But….the devil._

Ah! What did he care! Luffy grinned to himself. He'd beaten God hadn't he? The devil should be no problem! That is, if he even had to fight him. I mean, they didn't even know if Zoro was hurt! It could just be that the demon that had taken him had been more forceful than he should have.

_Yeah right!_

Luffy heard footsteps from behind him. Turning his head, he saw it was Nami. She looked….troubled. Her head was down, and she was walking slowly towards the rubber captain. Frowning he sat up.

"What is it Nami?" He asked, concerned.

She came to sit by him and stared out at the sea.

"Luffy……..can you believe it? Zoro's father is the devil?"

Luffy followed her gaze. The sea certainly looked lovely tonight; the sun was reflecting off it, causing the water to turn a blood red.

_A sign maybe?_

"Luffy…" Nami continued. "I'm….I'm scared……for Zoro." She dropped her head into her hands, tears welling up. "I'm…..I'm scared he…..he's been hurt. I'm scared that……..that we might not get him back…."

"No." Answered Luffy. Nami turned to look at him.

"No? No what?"

"No…..we will get him back." Luffy grinned "You shouldn't be so worried Nami! Zoro's fine! I bet he's sitting in some cell right now, waiting for us to come and get him! He's probably wondering what's taking us so long; you know he's never been the patient type!" The captain started laughing. "Or…..he may have gotten lost on the way to Kuzeo's place, and is sitting on some rock in the middle of the sea!" He started to laugh again. Nami stared at him in disbelief. How could he be so carefree? His first mate had just been kidnapped by some demon and taken to the house of the devil – who happened to be his father! Although…..if Zoro was the devil's child, then he was probably safe. After all, who would hurt their own son?

Suddenly, she began to feel cold. The temperature dropped, a shadow loomed across the deck. Slowly she looked up.

Standing at the top of the mast was….a demon.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."

"Huh? Nami what is it?" Luffy looked where Nami was pointing, and immediately leapt up, his arm drawn back, ready to fight.

"Nami-swwwan, what is the matter?" Called Sanji, running out of the kitchen and onto the deck, closely followed by the rest of the crew. What they saw made them stop dead in their tracks.

A man, possibly around the age of 25, was standing on the top of the mast. His skin was jet black, and on his back was a pair of dark, grey wings. A demon. The crew stared, the only ones of them who had ever seen a demon before was Luffy (though only briefly) and Robin. To the rest of them, this was completely new, and not a nice new.

The demon grinned and jumped down onto the deck.

"You must be the straw hat crew." He said.

Silence.

"Where's Zoro?!" Shouted Luffy.

The demon eyed him up.

"I see…….you must be the captain; Luffy, is it?"

Luffy growled "Too right I am! Now tell me where Zoro is! What have you done with him?"

The demon snorted. "What have I done with him? Nothing. I haven't seen since I put him in his cell. But I haven't come here to talk about Zoro."

The crew frowned.

"Then why have you come?" Asked Robin.

"To invite you all to Skull Island, for a feast with my master."

The crew was, once again, silenced.

_He's inviting us for dinner? _(Nami)

_Is this some kind of joke? _(Robin)

_It must be a trap. _(Usopp)

_We should kick his un-dead ass right now! _(Sanji)

_If we go we might see Zoro! _(Chopper)

"No." Answered Luffy. The demon raised an eyebrow.

"That might not be such a good idea. My master asked for you specifically, it would be very unwise not to come."

"We're not going until we know Zoro is safe. If you can prove it, we'll come."

The demon thought about this for a while.

"Alright." He said. "I'll go back and bring a photo of Zoro for you, to prove he's alive. Then you can come. If not…..well, let's just say you'll deeply regret it. Do you agree?"

Luffy nodded.

"Good."

And with that he opened his wings and, quick as lightning, flew off into the sky.

* * *

It hadn't taken the counsel long to get to Richo Island. They had used an underground sea train, something known about only by the brotherhood. It had been put there some time in the void century, not that it was originally a train track; after all, they hadn't been invented then. It had been built simply as a tunnel, but, around 20 years ago, the leader had paid Tom the merman to fit a track in it. It was the brotherhoods secret weapon; even Kuzeo didn't know about it. 

They sat silently in the carriage, each lost in their own thoughts. The journey passed fairly quickly, only stopping once for a resupply of coal, so the four were fairly surprised when the driver called out;

"Leader, we have reached Richo Island."

The leader frowned. He had asked everyone not to call him that, for there was always a fear of Kuzeo's spies, especially so close to Skull Island. In fact, his counsel had warned him not to come. It was too dangerous, they said. They were right of course; it was very dangerous, but that hadn't stopped him. He wanted to meet this pirate crew, after all, Michiko had said they could help them, and he wasn't going to argue with her. If there was any chance at all that they could help get rid of Kuzeo, he would accept it; they needed all the help they could get.

Sighing, he stood up and walked onto the platform, well, it was more like a slab of concrete put in a very large basement, which it was. The sea train's station on Richo Island was in the cellar of a certain spice shop, in fact, the owner was there to greet them.

"Leader! How good it is to see you!" Exclaimed the old woman, throwing her arms around the man's neck. The leader blushed slightly.

"Umm, yes. Good to see you too Aya, but, please don't call me that; you never know who's listening."

Aya backed away.

"Of course! How stupid of me!" She let out a crackled laugh. Then, noticing the others, said; "Please, come this way."

She led the small group, who had all disembarked, to a small staircase at the back of the room, and, waiting patiently for the train to leave first, began to climb.

At the top was a broad wooden door, obviously very old, leading into the back room of the shop. When her guests had come through, she quickly closed it. What was in the basement could never be shown to anybody. Luckily she had a fairly good relationship with Kuzeo, so he didn't bother her much, and he defiantly didn't look through her stuff.

"Where is this pirate crew?" Isamu asked, while looking around the room with moderate interest. Aya couldn't see why; there was nothing remotely interesting about it; it was just a store room.

"I believe they're on their ship." She answered. "When they found out who Kuzeo really was, and that he was Zoro's father…..well….they took it badly."

The leader nodded. It was the expected reaction, after all, it wasn't everyday you find out your friend's the son of the devil.

"Can you lead us too them?" He asked. Aya turned her attention to him.

"Yes, but don't you want to have some tea first? I mean, you must be tired after that long journey. Why not leave it a while?"

The leader thought about it. A cup of tea did sound tempting, after all his bones were aching and he was pretty thirsty. But his work came first, he needed to meet this crew.

"I think we'll meet the pirates first." He answered. "Maybe we can invite them back here for a drink?"

Aya smiled.

"Of course lea-, sir." She corrected herself. "That sounds like a good plan."

The counsel nodded in agreement, and they set off towards the docks.

It didn't take them long to get there, and the walk was nice anyway. The leader loved this island. The spring climate made it just heavenly; the sky was a reddy - orangey colour, the trees were green and the air had a certain feel about it, the kind that you only get at sunset. It was perfect.

As they got nearer to the ocean he looked out onto the water. It was so tranquil, not even the smallest wave pierced its surface.

When they reached the dock, Aya took them to a small, but well made, sturdy ship. The figurehead was that of a goat and painted on the sail was a skull wearing a straw hat.

_A strange thing to have as their emblem, a straw hat._

The leader thought as he made his way towards the caravel, not quite sure what he was expecting.

"Hello! Is anyone up there?" He called. From over the side came the head of a blonde haired man.

"What do you want?" He replied.

"Can I come up?"

The man looked surprised, then suspicious.

"Why?"

This time it was Aya who replied.

"Listen boy, this man may be able to help you get Zoro back." She yelled.

The blonde eyed up the group, looking for possible threats. Aya wouldn't hurt them, he knew that, and the old man who had called up originally didn't look very tough. The young man seemed potentially dangerous, or at least, he was strong. He reminded Sanji a little of Zoro, but moving on. The older woman looked like she knew how to fight and the younger woman looked……BEAUTIFUL! Sanji's eyes turned to hearts as gazed the girl up and down. She had a perfect figure, much like his Nami San, and her hair was a rippling gold. She had an aura around her that made her….intoxicating; he couldn't keep his eyes off her, much to the annoyance of the leader.

"Excuse me young man, but will you please let us onboard?" He said.

The blonde managed to tear his eyes away from Michiko long enough to let down a rope ladder, and they all climbed up.

Looking around the deck, the leader saw six people looking back at him, presumably the crew.

"Can we help you?" Asked a woman with bright red hair.

The leader turned to face her.

"Yes…but, can we talk inside, we may be being watched."

The girl frowned and reluctantly showed the visitors to the kitchen, where everyone made themselves comfortable whether on a chair, stool or, in Luffys case, work surface (Which any other time, Sanji would have told him to get off, however, he was too busy drooling at Michiko).

"Well?" Asked Nami. "What is it you want?"

"We believe you can help us." The leader replied.

Nami was suspicious.

"How?" She asked. "And you do know for our services we will be asking for payment."

The crew sweat dropped.

_Trust her._

"Actually, I don't think payment will be necessary, surly getting your nakama back will be enough."

Six straw hat heads snapped round at him. He now had their full attention.

"You know a way to get Zoro back?" Said a reindeer from the corner. Wait……a reindeer! The brotherhood members stared at Chopper. A talking reindeer! That was something they'd never seen before!

"Chopper here's eaten a devils fruit." Robin explained. "Now, you said you know a way to get back Zoro?"

"Umm…..yes…..no……sort of." He answered.

Nami raised an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She said.

"Well, I don't know specifically where Zoro is. He could be anywhere on Skull Island. However, I do own a map with location of it on, and I know everything about demons that you could ever want to know. I could be very helpful in finding your friend."

"Wow! You know everything about demons!" Cried an over excited Luffy with stars in his eyes. "Tell me how I can beat up Kuzeo!"

The leader looked at his hands.

"That is the one thing I don't know." He said. "No one alive knows how to beat that man, but we are trying to find a way."

"We? Who's we?" Asked Nami, picking up on the mans use of grammer.

The leader was silent for a while.

_Should I tell them?_

"'We' are the brotherhood." He answered.

The crew looked at him. Robin had filled them in about the book, so they all knew what the brotherhood was, however, they were surprised to see members of it on their ship.

"Alright Mr. Brotherhood." Said Nami. "Let's hear what you have to say, and we may be able to come to some kind of arrangement."

* * *

I hope you liked it! Please review! Constructive critism welcome, but please be nice! 


	8. A New Devils Fruit Appears

I've been trying to upload this thing since saturday! GURRRRRRRRRRR!

Anyway...hope you enjoy this chapter, I think Luffy's doing too many speechs...he'll only do about 1 or 2 more though.

I know this story's moving kind of slow at the moment, but from the next chapter onwards things will go faster - I promise!

**Disclaimer** - I don't own One Piece**

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**The Demon**

Chapter 8

They sat in the Merry Go's kitchen; 6 pirates, 4 demon hunters and a spice seller.

"Let's hear what you have to say, and we may be able to come to some kind of arrangement." Was what Nami had said. The leader pondered on the question. What did he have to say? A lot of things, but what he had to say and what the crew could help him with (Which was what the young lady was implying) were 2 different things.

"Well, where do I begin?" He asked, more to himself than anyone else. "The brotherhood started hunting demons around 1000 years ago. At first it seemed like a downhill struggle, a lost course; the demons overpowered us, we had no way to fight them!" He sighed, putting his head in his hands, as if he was actually remembering the events that happened all those years ago. "Then," He continued. "Completely by accident, we found their weakness; holy water. It's like an acid to them, but what's most strange is that when submerged in it, they become paralyzed. We don't know how and we don't know why but we don't care. We could finally even the score!

Then, sometime in the void century, our ancestors found a way of getting rid of every demon in the world. They left no record of how they did it, so we have nothing to go on, but I know we will find a way eventually."

"So what you're saying is that you want us to find out how your ancestors got rid of the demons?" Said Nami in a confused way. She didn't know how they could help; if the brotherhood had been trying to find out that piece of information since the void century, and they still didn't have it, then she doubted they could do anything extra.

The leader looked thoughtful for a while, before turning questioningly to the young girl.

"Michiko?" He enquired. The whole room looked at her.

"No." She answered after a while. "But…..you will have to do your research……read between the lines I suppose."

The pirates stared at her blankly.

"What does that mean?" Asked Usopp. "Stop talking in riddles!"

She looked down at her hands.

"I….I see darkness..." She stammered. "It's…It's so strong…..It's suffocating. I see…..pain…..sadness…betrayal." Her head snapped up. She stared around the room, looking at each individual closely, before uttering the words; "I see death."

………

An uneasy silence filled the room. Everyone gave each other side ways looks. Betrayal? Death?

"D..D..Death! Death of who?" Usopp asked, his whole body shaking with fright; this girl was seriously weird!

Michiko sighed "I don't know, my visions are vague; I know what's going to happen, but not where or who's involved. But, I do know this, your crew can help us defeat Kuzeo."

From his seat on the counter, Luffy began to laugh, much to the visitor's surprise.

"I don't need some physic to tell me that!" He said. "All I have to do is kick this guy's ass to get Zoro back right! Easy! I'm looking forward to it!"  
"FOOL!" Cried Isamu, jumping up and slamming his fist on the table."Do you think this is a game? Do you even have any idea how serious this is? Kuzeo is dangerous, he thinks human lives are worthless! Do you understand in your little brain that you are waging war on the devil?"

He stopped, panting for breath, glaring at the straw hat captain as if it was his fault the devil was here on earth.

Luffy looked back it him, his face expressionless, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

"I am taking this seriously."

Isamu scoffed in disdain.

"No, really, I am. I wouldn't be willing to risk my life for something I thought was a joke. I want Zoro back, that's the truth. I don't care who his parents are, or what he's done in the past, all I ask for is loyalty, and Zoro's given me that. But, we don't know anything that's happened to him since he was taken; we don't know if he's been hurt or pampered. We don't even know if he's alive or dead! So you might say I'm not taking this seriously, but let me tell you, I am. I have to; my nakama's life is on the line."

The leader looked guiltily at Luffy.

"You say you don't know anything that's happened to him?" He asked. Luffy nodded.

"That's right."

The leader turned to Michiko, who had gone back to staring at her hands. Nami picked up their body language.

"Why? Do you know something?" She asked. The leader looked at her.

"Yes." He replied. "But you're not going to like it."

* * *

Kneale was tired. He'd just flown all the way to Richo Island, all the way back again, and was now once again going back to see this straw hat crew. He'd had no stops to eat, drink or sleep which didn't help his mood at all. So, all in all, the last thing he wanted was for Kuzeo to tell him he had to do one more 'little chore' for him. Honestly! He was second in command and Kuzeo was treating him like some sort of lackey! 

Still, he had to follow orders- that was his job- so here he was flying at breakneck speed towards Aya's spice shop.

Kuzeo had a soft spot for Aya, probably because she was his mother in law, so he treated her with more kindness than he did most humans. She was Zoro's grandmother after all, so Kuzeo had decided to let her see him one last time before he went off to wherever it was Kuzeo was sending him to.

Kneale didn't know what his master was planning, alright, so he knew what the outcome was going to be, but he didn't know how Kuzeo was planning to get there. Still, it was none of his business.

Looking down he saw he was over the spice shop. Swiftly he landed on its roof and jumped down to the ground. He pushed on the door that lead to the back apartments, where Aya lived – it was locked. Frowning he rang the bell. Aya didn't usually lock her door, she had a lot of friends that liked to call round at unusual hours, so she always left it open. Why had she decided to lock it?

He heard movement from behind the door, and then a voice.

"Who is it?"

Kneale was now completely confused; the voice sounded like that of a small child, most likely a boy, Aya didn't have any other grandchildren, so what was this boy doing locked in her house?

"A friend." He answered. "Will you get Aya for me." He added, more as an order than anything else.

"I'm sorry, she's not in. Come back tomorrow." Replied the voice. Now Kneale was getting very suspicious.

"Look kid, open the door." He said calmly.

"No."

"Open it, or I will."

"I'm not opening it."

"Fine."

Kneale brought up his arm and waited for a few seconds as one side of it changed into a razor sharp, steel blade. Then, as fast as he flies, he swiped it across the door, splitting it right down the middle.

From the hallway a small boy, around the age of 10 stood gaping at the demon.

"Now then boy, where is Aya?" He asked.

The child just stood there, completely still, obviously still in shock about what he was seeing.

_Annoying kid, won't he say something?_

Then the boy's face changed. He looked, angry, no, more than angry, he looked…..furious. His hands curled up into fists as his teeth clenched together.

"You……you demon!" He yelled.

Then the boy seemed to…glow.

_I must be seeing things!_

He was emitting some sort of bright, white light. It was so bright Kneale couldn't look at him.

"What is this?" He yelled

The boy smirked.

"You demons. You killed my parents. I'm not going to let you get away with that!" Then, suddenly, he disappeared. One second he was there, the next he wasn't.

Preparing for an attack, Kneale turned his body to steel.

_This kid's eaten a devils fruit!_

The house was silent. Nothing moved. Then-

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Kneale whipped round just in time to see a blinding ball of light heading straight for him.

Just in time he jumped, and, hovering in midair, watched as it tore away at the shop, burning through everything in its path.

Kneale almost laughed.

"It looks like that ball's made of heat! Well let me tell you, you have a problem!" He called. "Heat doesn't hurt me!"

"I know." Came the answer from up above him. Instantaneously he looked up. The boy was standing on the ceiling, and in his hands he was holding a bucket.

"What's that?" Asked Kneale.

_Honestly, does this kid actually want to fight seriously?!_

"Holy water." Came the reply.

Once again Kneale found himself plunging away from danger as the boy attempted to tip the bucket over his head.

_Shit! How does this kid know about holy water?! And where did he get it from?!_

This time Kneale decided to strike back first, before the boy pulled another trick.

Pulling back his arm, he hurriedly changed is fist into a ball of fire.

"Eat this!" He yelled as he threw it at the child.

The boy dodged, no, he did more than dodge – he did that disappearing thing again!

Unfortunately for Kneale, he hadn't quite thought about the logistics of his attack, as he soon found out. His fire ball had burned a hole in the ceiling, right where the boy had been standing; however, he wasn't to know it was right by one of the house supports, and that his attack was so big that it burned through that as well.

_Shit._

He thought, as the house collapsed on top of him.

* * *

"What!" Yelled the leader, staring at the young boy standing in front of him. 

"I'm sorry, but I really wanted to come!" He explained "So I snuck on board the sea train. Then I waited in Aya's spice shop and this demon turned up, so I attacked him."

The counsel looked at Jason disapprovingly.

They were still on the straw hat pirate ship when they heard an explosion, or something that sounded like one. They were not very happy when they found out it was Aya's spice shop, and that it had been Jason who had destroyed it in the first place!

"Alright." Said the leader. "Since you're here we may as well make use of you, however, you attacking a demon will have defiantly alerted Kuzeo to our presence. Also, since you used holy water, he'll know it's the brotherhood. Honestly! You should think about what you're doing before you do it!"

Jason looked down in shame.

"I know. I'm really sorry. I won't do it again."

The leader rolled his eyes. Of course he would do it again – he always did.

The brotherhood were seated on the top deck of the ship. They had decided to leave the pirates alone for a while after telling them the news.

**Flashback**

"Yesterday Michiko felt Kuzeo take a soul. After some meditation, she recognised it as Zoros." The leader said, not daring to look Luffy in the eye. "I'm sorry, but Zoro's already been turned into a demon, and that process is irreversible."

"NO WAY!" Luffy yelled "Maybe you made some kind of mistake!"

Michiko shook her head. "No, it was defiantly Zoro. His soul has a distinctive half-devil feel about it. I'm sorry."

**End Flashback**

The crew had not taken the news well, especially the captain, so they had decided to leave them be for a while.

Isamu turned to Jason, meaning to question him some more.

"So, where is this demon now?" He asked.

Jason shrugged.

"I dunno, probably still under the rubble."

"Wrong."

The group whipped round. There stood a demon. Not just any demon. The brotherhood recognised him immediately as Kneale, Kuzeo's second in command.

"You don't think a pile of rocks is going to stop me, do you?" He sneered. "Pathetic brat!"

"What's going on?" Asked Nami, stepping out of the kitchen.

Kneale looked at her for a second, then smirked, recognising her as one of the straw hats. He knew just how to turn this situation to his advantage

"I think I'll be taking my leave." He said, opening his wings and starting to hover. "However, I still need to bring these straw hats to Skull Island, so I'll take some bait with me as well."

And with that, he straightened out his arm with his palm vertical, pointing at the navigator, saying;

"I'll take her."

Suddenly some sort of unknown force seemed to gather around Nami. Her eyes began to close and her body turned limp. Soon she couldn't stand, and, as she fell over, Kneale grabbed her by the waist, and, as quick as always, flew off into the night sky.

"NAMI!" Yelled Sanji, running out of the kitchen. "NAMI! NAMI!"

Shortly after him, the rest of the crew came out.

"NAMI!" They all yelled, looking into the sky, but of course, they couldn't see anything; Kneale was long gone by then.

"By the looks of things." Said the leader. "You have 2 nakama to rescue now."

* * *

Kuzeo sat at his desk looking at his son sitting opposite. He was hardly recognisable as Zoro anymore; his skin was jet black, his eyes blood red and his hair had turned into a very dark shade of green, with streaks of black in it. On his back were the most amazing pair of wings Kuzeo had ever seen. They were dark green, much like the colour of his hair, and had a bewildering, metallic sheen on them. Each feather seemed to be a slightly different colour, adding to its uniqueness. It had taken Kuzeo a while to drag his eyes away from them, because he knew that the more spectacular the wings, the more power of the demon. And now, for the first time in his life, he was proud of his son. 

"Quite a pair of wings you have there, wouldn't you say?"

The soulless shell gazed blankly at him, his eyes glazed over.

"Your friends should be coming soon."

Silence.

"I've had Kneale fetch them."

Silence.

"But now, on to your job, I have a special task for you to do."

Silence.

"It may be slightly dangerous, do you mind?"

Silence.

"Of course you don't! Now then, shall I tell you what it is?"

Silence.

Kuzeo frowned; he didn't like this lifeless Zoro, he was way to quiet. He much preferred the witty comments and occasional abuse he normally received from him; this zombie was just to weird!

Sighing, he sat back in his chair. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea…………

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Preview for next chapter

Working together - The brotherhood and the strawhats!

Kuzeo's plans - what does he have in store for Nami?

Zoro's childhood

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Please review!

BTW:

Aya - 'colourful' or 'woven silk'

Isamu - 'Bravery'

Chika - 'Wisdom'

Michiko - 'Beautiful wise child'


	9. Memories

Here it is - chapter 9!

ENJOY!

**Disclaimer** - I don't own One Piece**

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**The Demon**

Chapter 9

"_You have to look after him – he's your son!"_

"_I have no obligation to care for him in anyway."_

"_What are you on about?! You can't just leave him to rot in the streets!"_

"_If it were up to me that's where he'd be right now. I never asked you to bring him back here."_

"_How can you be so selfish?! What has he ever done to you?!"_

"_He's taken Sayuri from me. A crime he will never be forgiven for."_

"_WHAT! He's a baby! Sayuri died naturally, it was no ones fault!"  
"It was his."_

"_You're acting like a spoilt child! You're sad and need someone to take this out on, I understand that. But why choose your own son!" _

"_I don't just need someone to take this out on! Thanks to him my wife is dead. Why should I care for a murderer?"_

"_You're calling him a murderer?! I don't believe it! After all the innocent lives you've taken!"_

"_That has nothing to do with this! The fact is that…that…THING, will never live under my roof – and that's final!" _

"_So you can give it but you can't take it, is that what you're saying?"_

"_Stop turning philosophical on me Aya, it won't work."_

"_Kuzeo, sometimes words fail me."_

* * *

They had come up with a plan. The straw hats needed to get back Nami and Zoro (Whatever state of mind he was in) and the brotherhood wanted the death of Kuzeo, or at least the destruction of whatever it was he had planned. They needed a way of getting to Skull Island safely, freeing 2 prisoners and somehow defeating the devil. 

Well, the straw hats had the first thing covered – they could use the Merry Go to get there; they did however, lack a navigator.

The second thing was freeing the prisoners - none of them had any idea where they were. They only one who had been to Kuzeo's castle before was Aya, and she had never been anywhere near the dungeons.

The third thing was defeating Kuzeo. That, they decided, they would leave till last, as it was undoubtedly going to be the hardest thing to do. Luffy had said he would be willing to fight him, however, he had no idea what his enemies abilities were or how strong he was.

Aya filled him in.

"Kuzeo's powers are generated by black energy." She explained. "He can control it to do whatever he wishes, whether it's creating a shield or sword, taking a soul or communicating over long distances. This type of energy can let him do pretty much everything he wants to. You have to be careful when fighting him – he's known for using tricks."

"What about the demons?" Asked Robin. "What are their powers like?"

"Well, each individual is different. From what I've seen, every demon can only do a few things. For example, Kneale is the one I know best. The only things I've seen him do are turn his body into steel, turn his body into fire and create strange auras that make people fall unconscious."

"Those sound a lot like some devils fruits we've seen." Observed Sanji.

From behind him Robin giggled.

"Yes." She said. Everyone looked at her. "I've had my suspicions for some time now, ever since you said demons became paralyzed in holy water. But now, I think that confirms it."

"Confirms what Robin– Chan?"

"About what happens to demons when they die."

The brotherhood frowned.

"They turn to dust." Said Chika

Robin smiled.

"Yes, I know that. But have you ever been to the site that a demon's died on, a few hours after the event?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Well I have, and right at the spot where their heart was, was a plant."

"A plant?"

"Yes. A small, shrub like thing with a very strange fruit growing from it."

The leader's head snapped up.

_Of course! Why didn't I think of it before!_

Chika seemed to have figured it out too, by the look of surprise on her face.

"Don't tell me," She said. "That fruit is a devil's fruit?"

Robin nodded.

"That's right. It would seem that when a demon dies, the ability that they used the most gets transferred into a fruit, which is why they have become known as devils fruits. It's also why those with abilities can't swim and become paralyzed in water; because that's what happens to demons in holy water. But it sees as if this weakness mutates a little for creatures that are still alive, making all water dangerous for them."

The leader nodded.

"You know," He said. "That actually makes sense."

"Maybe so," Isamu Interrupted. "But it doesn't help us. We still need a navigator to get this ship to Skull Island. Any of you have any bright ideas?"

The group was lapsed into silence as they all thought of a way out of this predicament. Skull Island had no magnetic field, so the log pose wouldn't lead them there – besides, Nami had it anyway. Normal compasses didn't work on the Grand Line either, so they wouldn't be any help. Even the map that The Leader (Who had introduced himself as Daisuke) had with him wasn't any use without a navigator. Things were looking bad.

"I have an idea!" Piped up Jason.

"Oh really? What?" Asked Diasuke.

"Well, maybe, if this was going to be a sort of great stand against Kuzeo, we could bring in everyone else. We have more than enough navigators, so one could be used to pilot the ship. And then, they could provide a diversion so we could sneak into Kuzeo's castle, hopefully we'll be able to free your friends before he realises that we're there. Then we can fight him!"

The group stared at him in bewilderment. It was a smart plan, especially coming from such a young child. Depending on how many people they could bring in at such short notice, it just might work!

"Well Jason, I have to say, it's a very good plan." Complimented Diasuke. "Isamu, contact the generals, get them to come to Ricko Island as fact as possible, with as many men as they can bring, all ready for war."

"Hai!"

"This will be our comeback to Kuzeo. Our last stand. We will either will and live, of fail and die. We are waging war, and we will not be taken down easily!" He cried.

"HAI!"

* * *

"_Alright, he's in the east wing. Are you happy now?"_

"_Who's caring for him?"_

"_I've hired a nanny."_

"_Is she any good?"_

"_How would I know? She's the cheapest I could find."_

"_What! You only hired her because she was cheap! She's going to be taking care of your son!"_

"_I wouldn't be taking care of him at all if you hadn't nagged me so much! Honestly! If you were anyone else I'd have killed you by now."_

"_Then why aren't I dead?"_

"_Because I don't want to kill you! You're Sayuri's mother! She wouldn't want me to hurt you!"_

"_She wouldn't want you to hurt your son either."_

"_Shut up! Besides, if you love him so much why don't you look after him?"_

"_In case you haven't noticed, I'm old! I can barely take care of myself, yet alone a child! When he grows up and doesn't need as much looking after, I'll take him. But until then he can stay here – even if you are only paying a cheap nanny to care for him."_

"_How long will it be until you can take him?"_

"_I don't know! 11, 12 years maybe."_

"_That long!" _

"_Why are you so eager to get rid of him?! Just try being a father for once Kuzeo; you might like it!"_

"_Humh. I won't be going anywhere near him, yet alone trying to be a father!"_

"_Whatever. I've given up on you; you're too stubborn! Can I come and see him?"_

"_Eh? Sure. Anytime you want, just don't disturb me."_

"_Fine."_

* * *

Nami sat in her cell. It was small, made completely of concrete, and her hands were cuffed tightly behind her back, digging into her skin slightly. 

_Where am I?_

The last thing she remembered was seeing that demon on the deck, then she had started to feel really weak, and then….she was here!

Her stomach growled. How long had it been since she'd eaten? Too long, she decided.

She heard something move from behind the door, then the lock clicked, and it swung open.

Standing in the doorway was a man. He was reasonably tall, with black hair cut nicely around his face. He was dressed in a long, floor length cape, with blood red lining. It had a tall collar as well, which made him look like Dracula, Nami thought.

"You must be Nami." He stated.

"That's right." She answered. "Who are you?"

The man smiled and walked further into the cell.

"My name is Kuzeo."

Nami's eyes shot open. Kuzeo? This man was Kuzeo? Then that meant…..this was the devil! She tried to edge backwards, getting as much space between the two of them as possible.

_I've been imprisoned by the devil! Luffy, help! Come quickly!_

"What are you doing?" He asked, watching her movements.

"Oh…um, nothing! Nothing at all!"

He frowned, lifting an eyebrow at her response.

"Anyway, the fact is I don't want to keep you locked in this cell. I never wanted you here in the first place, so I may as well make your stay more enjoyable."

"R..really?"

_He's being nice to me? It must be a trap!_

"Yes. You must be hungry. I have food for 100 people waiting, so you can have as much as you want."

"Well….I am a little hungry."

"Of course you are! Here, let me take off those cuffs."

He moved his hand slightly and they fell clattering to the ground.

_How did that happen?_

"Come on, follow me." He said, walking out of the door. Nami quickly stood up and followed him.

He led her down a series of passageways, all lined with cells, until they reached a large, stone staircase.

_Should I attack him now? Try to knock him out?_

Kuzeo laughed.

"Let me tell you something Nami, I am impossible to sneak up on."

_What! How did he know I was planning on doing that!_

"It would be best for you if you simply did as you were told, that way I won't have to hurt you."

"o…ok!" Nami stuttered. "Whatever you say!"

Kuzeo grinned and continued walking up the stairs, with Nami following close behind.

_Ok, I'll do what he wants me too for now – at least until I can find a way out of here._

They walked for what seemed like an age, until finally they reached a pair of huge, wooden doors. Kuzeo lifted his hand and they began to slowly open.

Inside was a massive hall. The ceiling was twice the height of Arlong Park and decorated with intricate patterns of leaves and such things. The great stone walls were covered in tapestries, each one telling a different story. Nami was enthralled by them – never had she seen such beautifully designed work, they must have taken years to make!

The only piece of furniture in the room was a huge, solid oak table that ran the length of the hall, and all the way along it was – food. There were joints of lamb, steaks, sides of mutton, fish pie, a verity of vegetables and much, much more. Nami had never seen so much food!

All around the table were richly decorated seats, at least 200, and all were empty – except one.

_No way!_

* * *

"_Why have you fired my nanny?!"_

_"You call her a nanny?! She didn't know the first thing about raising children! You should have seen the way she was treating…..what have you named him?"_

"_I haven't."_

"_WHAT! He needs a name!"_

"_Why?"_

"_Because everyone needs a name! Now what will you call him?"_

"_I don't want to name him!"_

"_You're going to have to! You're his father!"_

"_Stop saying that! He is not my son!"_

"_Fine, do you want me to name him?"_

"_Do whatever you want."_

"_Then I'll name him after my father. Zoro."_

"_Zoro? That's a stupid name!"_

"_Do you have any better ideas?"_

"_No."_

"_Then stop complaining! Now then, you'll need a new nanny."_

"_Why? I had one until you fired her!"_

"_And because I fired her you'll need a new one! Do want me to pick one?"_

"_No! You'll choose the most expensive! I'm not made of money you know!"_

"_Kuzeo, you're one of the richest men in the world!"_

"_So! I don't like being cheated out of my money by some little slapper I'm paying to take care of some brat!"_

"_That 'brat' is your son."_

"_Stop saying that! Look, if it will shut you up, you can choose a new nanny, as long as she's not too expensive."_

"_Thank-you. You know Kuzeo, as this child gets older, he's going to be strong; with you as a father and Sayuri as a mother. Maybe it's best if you don't ill treat him."_

"_I'm strong enough to take care of myself Aya, stop treating me like a child."_

"_Stop acting like one."_

"_I'm not!"_

"_Yes, you are. It's time you realised, you have a responsibility now, stop trying to run away from it."_

"_Forgive me for trying."_

"_You drive me round the bend sometimes!"_

"_That's not very far."_

"_See! You're acting like a child again!"_

"_Oh, go away!"_

* * *

Sayuri - Small lilly 

Diasuke - Great help

* * *

Don't forget to review! 


	10. Murder Report

Chapter 10 already! This one goes out to all my lovely reviewers, who kept me going all this way!

This chapter has a lot of little sections in, in the next one they'll be bigger.

ENJOY

**Disclaimer - **I don't own anything!**

* * *

**

**The Demon**

Chapter 10

The crew stared out at the water, not quite sure if what they were seeing was real.

On the sea's horizon, stretched as far as the eye could see, were a fleet of battleships. There were 500, at least, all slowly moving towards the island. The straw hats couldn't believe it. Never had they seen such a sight!

"Diasuke! The fleet's here!" Yelled Jason.

The man came out of the kitchen, having just enjoyed a cup of Sanji's tea, and eyed up the line of ships.

"Well, it looks like everyone's come." He stated, with a hint of pride in his voice.

"No way! They ALL belong to the brotherhood!" Exclaimed Usopp.

Chika giggled at his reaction.

"That's right, and they've all been specially trained in fighting demons. Kuzeo won't know what hit him!"

"I seriously doubt that." Said Aya, her voice full of foreboding "That man is impossible to sneak up on."

Diasuke looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"That may be so." He said. "But at least we have a fair chance of standing up to him"

Aya shook her head.

"I fear that this may all be in vain." She answered. "We don't actually know how many demons Kuzeo has, I mean, he's been collecting them since the void century! He must have a fair few by now!"

Daisuke grinned.

"Prehaps. But hopefully all of them will be too preoccupied with the fleet, so it gives us a chance to sneak in."

Aya snorted.

"Whatever."

"How long do you think it will be until they get here?" Asked Jason.

Isamu looked across the water.

"Well, judging by their speed and how far they have to go, I'd say around 2 hours."

"GREAT!" Shouted Luffy, jumping up. "Sanji, let's have breakfast!"

"I've already put it on; it'll be ready in a few minutes."

"YAY!"

Isamu rolled his eyes.

_This guy is worth 100 million bellis?_

* * *

"_Master, Zoro is doing extremely well in his training. He's getting much stronger, very quickly. I've never seen anyone develop at such a fast rate."_

"_Can he beat you?"_

"_Well, no, he can't but-"_

"_Then he's not strong enough! I want you to double his training time."_

"_WHAT! But, then he'd be doing 16 hours of hard training a day!"_

"_I know. That's how much I want him to do."_

"_But master, that's too much!"_

"_Are you defying me?"_

"_No, of course not….it's just that…he's only 6!"_

"_Your point being?"_

"_My point being, that he's not old enough to be worked this hard! He'll die in a few weeks if you put that much pressure on his body!"_

"_What a shame that would be."_

"_Master, please. I'm begging you not to do this!"_

"_I'll be the one to decide what the brat does and doesn't do – not you!"_

"_Of course master, he's your son."_

"_Don't say that! I want you to double his training time, if he can't handle it, it's his own fault."_

Sighs

"_Yes master."_

* * *

The crew watched as 6 men boarded their ship. These were the brotherhoods generals, or so Chika had said, and they looked, well, just like marine officers, except without uniform.

So they sat on the deck together, all 17 of them, discussing their strategy. Diasuke had a map out, which he put in the centre of the circle.

"This is Richo Island." He said, pointing to a large land mass in the centre of the paper. "We're on the southern side of it at the moment, which means that we'll need to go the whole way round to get to Skull Island – which is near the north.

You." He said, pointing at his generals. "Will take the fleet around the left side of the island, while the straw hats and I will take this ship around the right side. That way, you will be coming into Skull Island's west side, and us, its east. Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Now, you will have to try and draw the demons away from the castle; in fact, try to get them away from the island altogether. So you'll have to do something to get their attention. I think the best thing to do will be bombard them from a long distance, using cannons is probably best bet. That way they'll have to come off the island to attack you."

The generals nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like a good plan." Admitted Sanji. "But we still need a navigator."

"Don't worry." Said one of the generals. "We have one who has just finished his apprenticeship, he hasn't been assigned a ship yet, so you can have him."

Sanji nodded.

"Fine, so long as he can get us there."

Their new navigator turned out to be a young man in his early 20's, with pale skin and large glasses. He was very shy, as the crew soon found out, and seemed to be terrified of Luffy, refusing to go anywhere near him.(Usopp seemed to find this very amusing.)

But the straw hats didn't mind, they only had to put up with him for a while; they'd endured much worse before.

It took quite a while to get the rest of the fleet prepared, and by the time everyone was ready, it was early evening.

Just before the ship set off, Luffy went down into the men's quarters, and slid the dirty sword case out from under the floorboard, where he had been keeping it safe. Carefully he opened the lid and took another look at the katana inside.

_Hang in there Zoro, we're coming!_

* * *

_Kuzeo stared down at the small boy cowering in front of him. _

_He was lying on his stomach, obviously in pain. He had been working too hard, his muscles couldn't take it anymore – and he had finally collapsed. Kuzeo should have felt pity, guilt, regret even, at this boys condition – after all, it was his fault! But he didn't. He felt nothing._

"_Get up." He ordered. _

_Zoro gritted his teeth and tried to stand. He gat about halfway before collapsing again. He just couldn't support his weight! His body was too tired; too weak._

"_You're pathetic." Kuzeo sneered. The boy ground his teeth in frustration. The only reason he was like this in the first place was because of him!_

"_I can't believe I've been stuck with you." Kuzeo continued. "After keeping you alive and well all these years, even hiring a sensei to train you! And this is how you repay me! By being so weak you can't even stand!" _

_Kuzeo lifted his leg up._

"_I should kill you right now, but your grandmother wouldn't be too impressed."_

_He quickly brought down his leg, connecting it with Zoro's side, and kicking him across the room._

"_However, she didn't say anything about me making your life hell!"_

_Quick as lightning he moved across the room, punching Zoro in the gut before he had even had time to hit the floor._

"_So that's what I'll do!"_

_He moved again, only this time he had a club in his hands, which he swiftly used to whack Zoro on the head with._

"_What a shame for you!"_

_He finished his attack with a hard kick to Zoro's spine – right at the pressure point – and Zoro's lights quickly went out._

* * *

Nami stared at the thing in front of her. It looked like Zoro….and yet… It couldn't be Zoro! It just couldn't!

Its skin was black, it had green wings and red eyes….and yet. It was still Zoro! What the strange girl said had been true then; Zoro was a demon!

"Zoro!" She yelled, running across the room towards him. The thing stood up as he saw her coming. "Zoro what's happened to you?" Nami grabbed hold of his shoulders, shaking him violently.

"Zoro! Why do you look like this?! What's he done to you?!" She continued to shake him, tears falling from her eyes. She couldn't stand to see him like this. He looked so – unnatural. "Zoro!" She carried on wailing. "Zoro!"

Suddenly a cold fist connected to the side of her face, hurtling her across the hard stone floor and crashing fiercely into the wall. Unfortunately she landed badly, twisting her ankle in a very strange position.

She lay on the floor for a few seconds, catching her breath. Had she seen what she thought she had? She could have sworn she saw Zoro move his hand just before she was hit – but it couldn't have been him. Zoro would never hit her!

"Wh…what was that?" She asked, a little dazed from the crash.

"Who hit me?" Slowly, she lifted herself up from the floor, so that she was now sitting on her knees, and looked around.

Kuzeo hadn't moved; he was still standing by the doors, a little smirk on his face. But Zoro, he had his hand curled into a fist and was staring at her with an emptyness in his eyes.

_Zoro hit me?_

Kuzeo started to laugh.

"I guess you annoyed him!" He smirked.

Nami stared at Zoro, disbelief in her eyes.

_Zoro actually hit me!_

She still couldn't believe it. Zoro would never hit her! Alright, so he'd threatened her enough times, but he'd never actually carried out any of those threats! But…..she wasn't mistaken…..it had been Zoro!

"Well, well, well, Nami, I guess you now know that Zoro works for me. He's my demon slave; he does exactly as I tell him too. However, he punched you out of his own defensive instinct. I guess if you're lifeless, soulless and zombie like, what you just did looked a little like an attack." He started laughing again. "Anyway, enough of this! As you can see I have plenty of food, so you can just dig in. Unfortunately I have some important business to take care of, so Zoro will be watching over you, making sure you don't get into trouble." And with that, he turned around and walked out, closing the doors behind him. Nami was now alone with Zoro. With a demon.

* * *

Kuzeo walked down the hallway into his office. Leaving Nami and Zoro in the dining hall together had all been part of his plan. Once Nami sees how much Zoro has changed, she would tell the rest of the crew and hopefully they would leave him alone. Or at least, that was his plan, he wasn't sure how well it would work, but it was worth a shot. Obviously Zoro hadn't hit the girl out of his own choice; he had told him to do it, but she didn't need to know that. As long as she continued to think it was Zoro, everything was ok.

Reaching the door to his office, he opened it and walked in. Nothing had changed. There was his desk, his chair, his bookshelves – everything was just how he liked it. Walking over to his desk, he pulled out the top draw and picked out a large file. He slumped it onto the desk and began to read.

_Funeral Date – 12th May_

_Destination – Armry Town_

_Authorized by – Father Haslam_

_Course of death – gunshot wound to the head_

_Name of victim – Roronoa Zoro_

As much as he hated to admit it, he was interested in who had managed to kill Zoro all those years ago, so he had 'acquired' his funeral/murder investigation files. He didn't know why the World Government kept these, they must take ages to write, and they weren't really of any use, after all, the person in question was dead. Still, right now, he wasn't complaining. Zoro was strong, he knew that much, so it meant whoever killed him must be stronger. He may be a useful ally to have, especially if he knew Zoro's weak point – something which Kuzeo had been trying to find for a while now.

Silently, he continued reading.

_Location found – Dunsang Woods, Armry Island _

_Time of Death – 2:05 am_

_Doctor authorised – Dr. Pearce_

_Autopsy results – Victim suffered gunshot wound to the right temple. Cuts on arms consistent with some sort of self defence. Bloodshot eyes show that victim was temporarily blinded sometime before death, possibly blind at time of death. Victim had 2 broken ribs, broken right arm, popped kneecap and broken nose – all these consistent with severe beating._

Kuzeo whistled. Zoro had certainly taken a beating; whoever had killed him certainly wanted him to suffer. Beating and blinding him before finally finishing him off with a bullet.

_Sounds like my kind of guy._

_Investigation results – Victim was found with 6 million bellis in his pocket, which has been traced back to a bounty he collected earlier that day. This concludes it was not robbery._

_Aren't they smart._

_Also, due to the severalty of the murder, it can be predicted that this was a crime of passion. However, all people liked to the victim have strict alibis. The murderer left no clues at the crime scene. This case is uncompleted as a murderer was not found._

Kuzeo put the file down and walked to the window. So Zoro's murderer wasn't found. Well, it didn't really matter anyway, after all, he had Zoro under his command now. However, there may be a chance that Zoro could remember who killed him, he wouldn't be able to remember in his demon form though.

_Damn! I should have asked him before I enslaved him!_

Well, it wasn't like he'd tell him anyway, so Kuzeo let it rest.

He had a lot to be getting on with.

* * *

Don't forget to press that lovely purple button! 


	11. Backstabber

In flashbacks, words in quote marks (') are thoughts and words in speech marks (") are speech.

Chapter 11:

ENJOY!!!!

**Disclaimer** - I don't own One Piece - yet.**

* * *

**

**The Demon**

Chapter 11

Nami stared at the demon Zoro, her hand nursing her face where he had hit her. It still hurt.

Gazing at her for a moment longer, he turned around and walked back to the table, taking a seat in the same chair he had been sitting on before. Slowly, she stood up and walked to the seat opposite him, before pulling it out and sitting down.

They sat in silence for a while.

"Zoro, how has this happened?" Nami asked the swordsman.

He stayed quiet.

"Why won't you speak?"

Still he said nothing.

Nami's stomach growled. It was only then she remembered how hungry she was.

Sighing, she took a slice of ham from the plate nearest to her and cautiously put it in her mouth. It was delicious! Not as nice as Sanji's of course, but it came somewhere close.

Quickly she grabbed anything in reach of her, stuffing it in her mouth in a way that she'd only ever seen Luffy do. She was starving! And all the while Zoro stared at her with his newly coloured eyes, seeming to look just past her, rather than actually at her. It was slightly unnerving actually, but she ignored it and continued to eat.

After finally taking her fill, she sat back in her chair and patted her stomach.

"Wow! That was delicious! I've never eaten so much in one go! Why don't you have some too?"

Zoro sat forever still. This was really starting to piss Nami off.

"Come on Zoro! At least say something! This is driving me insane! Speak for God's sake!"

He didn't.

"Urrrrrrrrrrrr! What's with you?!"

_Calm down Nami! He's not doing this on purpose, I mean, look at him! He's been turned into some mind-controlled demon! You can't blame him for that!_

Taking 2 deep breaths, she calmed herself down.

"Alright Zoro. So what now? Are we just going to sit here?"

Although he showed no sign of hearing her, he slowly stood up and made his way to the doors, then exactly as Kuzeo had done it, he raised his hand and they opened.

Nami's mouth dropped. How could Zoro do such things? How could he have that power?

He began to walk out, then stopped and turned round, looking expectantly at her. Nami took that as a sign he wanted her to follow him.

They walked around the castle for a while, with Zoro leading the way. Every so often they'd pass another demon, one of lower rank obviously, because they would always stop and pay their respects to Zoro, either by slightly bowing their heads or saluting him. Zoro paid no attention, just carried on walking. Whenever they passed a window Nami would sneak a look out, only to be crestfallen by what she saw. Demons. Hundreds of them, surrounding the castle. It seemed like Kuzeo had this place well guarded, which meant she had no way of getting out.

Eventually they reached a small door, which Zoro swiftly opened. It turned out to be a bedroom, and a very nice one at that. There was a huge four-poster bed in the centre, and a very nice vanity mirror to one side. Zoro gestured at her to go in. Slowly she walked passed him into the room.

The door closed behind her.

Whipping round she just had time to see the lock click.

_So I'm still a prisoner, just a more nicely treated one._

* * *

Sanji leaned against the bow of the 'Going Merry', smoking his last cigarette of the day. He stared up at the ink blue sky, while inhaling a deep breath of smoke.

"Those things will kill you, you know."

He turned round. That little kid, what was his name again? Oh yeah, Jason, was standing there.

"What's it to you?" Sanji answered, tuning back to face the water. He heard footsteps and a moment later the boy was standing beside him.

There was silence between them.

"It's late." Sanji pointed out. "You should be in bed."

"So should you."

Sanji frowned at the boy. Who was he to tell him what to do?!

"Diasuke says we'll reach Skull Island tomorrow." Jason said.

"What of it?"

"Well, tomorrow, we may all be dead."

Sanji looked down at the boy. He hadn't said those words with fear or anxiety, but simply as a fact, as if dying was something that happened everyday.

"Are you scared?" He asked.

Jason shook his head.

"No. I'm ready to fight. I'm not scared of dying."

Sanji almost grinned.

"Really!" He said. "Then you must be pretty brave! Even though I'm much older than you, I'm still scared of dying."

Jason looked up at him in surprise.

"You are?!"

"Of course! I thought everyone was until I met you."

"But…your captain, he's not afraid of dying. He says he'll fight Kuzeo!"

Sanji smiled.

"Yes, he did. This is hard to explain kid, but you can still be afraid of death, but be willing to die for someone." He paused for a moment to let the words sink in. "Who are you willing to die for?"

Jason seemed surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you're so ready to die, then isn't there a reason for it?"

Jason thought about this.

"Well…." He said. "My parents were killed by demons, they died saving my life, so I'm willing to die to get rid of every demon once and for all!"

Sanji looked sadly down at the boy.

"You know kid, when I was your age a man gave his leg to save my life. He was a famous pirate and having only one leg meant he couldn't sail anymore. I stayed with him after that, waiting for a chance to risk my life for him, so I could pay him back."

He doused the cigarette on the banister.

"But when that time finally came, Luffy said something to me."

"What was it?"

"He said that that old man didn't give his leg for me so I could throw my life away, he did it so I could live. And you know what; he was right. So, do you really think your parents would want to see you get yourself killed, after they had died to save you?"

Jason stared down at his hands.

"N…no! They wouldn't!" He cried, tears welling up. "But now I'm here, what else can I do?!"

Sanji turned round to go back inside.

"You can do whatever you want." He said.

"WAIT!"

Sanji turned his head.

"What?"

"Why are you risking your life for Zoro? Don't you know he's Kuzeo's son! For all you know he could take over Kuzeo's place when we kill him! Why do you want to put the world at risk?"

Sanji laughed.

"You obviously don't know Zoro!" He answered. "He's strong, but not dangerous. He wouldn't take Kuzeo's place as devil either."

"How do you know? All demons are the same – they don't care about other peoples feelings, they just do what they want! That's what Zoro's like as well!"

Sanji frowned.

"Who told you that?"

"Diasuke, 4 years ago."

"Well he's wrong. Zoro isn't like that at all."

"But just look at his reputation as a pirate hunter!"

"It's just a reputation, just rumours, it's not true."

Jason looked a little ashamed of himself, and stared down at his feet. Sanji walked over to him.

"Look kid, you can't judge someone before you get to know them, especially if that image you see of them is based on a rumour or who their family is. Everyone is different and obviously Diasuke can't see that."

"Don't speak badly about him." Said Jason. "He's like a father to me."

"Even so, I'm going to find it difficult sailing with someone who can't tell the difference between a person and stereotypes."

And leaving his words to settle in to the young boys mind, Sanji walked back into the cabins – he was 2 minutes late for waking up Isamu for his watch – damn kid!

* * *

The next day was bleak and misty. Their new navigator had said that they'd be arriving at Skull Island at around 5 O'clock - that meant 9 hours of waiting.

Not that the straw hats minded waiting, after all, they lived on a ship and had to wait to get from island to island, but Sanji had a feeling that these 9 hours would be the longest that they'd ever felt.

Everyone was preparing for battle in their own way. Luffy was sitting on the goat's head, hungrily eating a piece of meat, Usopp was checking his sling shot pellets, Chopper was making more medicine in case anyone got hurt and Robin was silently reading the diary she was given. And as for him; he had been cooking, however he had stopped after breakfast and didn't intend to start making lunch for another few hours. Now he was bored. He hated not having Nami- San there to make something for, and he couldn't take out his boredom on moss head either. However, there was one person he needed to have a word with.

He made his way towards the mast and started the climb the ladder leading to the crows nest. It was Diasuke's watch, so he should find him up here.

As he neared the top, he heard hushed voices; it seemed like Diasuke was having some kind of secret discussion with someone.

_Wasn't he supposed to be the only one up here?_

He ceased his climb to listen to the conversation.

"We should tell them – they deserve to know."

That voice was defiantly a woman's, it sounded like Chikas, come to think of it.

"No way! They'd kill us! Don't forget the captain's worth 100 million! Who knows what he did to get that bounty!"

That was Diasuke.

"But they're risking their lives for our cause! Don't you think they should know the truth?"

"Not if it brings harm to what we're doing! If they found out then they would refuse to work with us! We wouldn't be able to beat Kuzeo!"

"I suppose your right……."

"Of course I am. But what made you bring this up anyway?"

"It's something Jason said."

"What did he say?"

"That Zoro isn't evil. Or at least, that's what one of the straw hats told him – the cook, I think."

"Well he would say that, he's Zoro's nakama! These pirates are just as bad as Zoro and Kuzeo, the only reason they're working with us is because they happened to get on the wrong side of the devil! They don't care who gets in their way, whether it's Kuzeo or the World Government, they'll kill them all! Pirates and demons are the same kind – you can't trust any of them! I don't want that cook putting anymore ideas into Jason's head! I'll go tell him not to speak with them..."

Upon hearing Diasuke start to stand up, Sanji immediately dropped down onto the deck, than carried on walking as if he'd never been up there in the first place.

A moment later, Diasuke followed him.

"Oi, aren't you supposed to be on lookout?" He asked him.

"Yes, but I need to talk to Jason, Chika's taking over for me." He answered with a grin, then walked off.

_So he's still acting like our friend, that backstabbing bastard! I wonder what it was they did that Chika wanted to tell us._

"Sanji!! I'm hungry!" Came the call from the figurehead.

"Wait Luffy, you've only just had breakfast!" Sanji yelled back before going off to the kitchen to make some snacks.

_Maybe I can figure this all out while cooking. _He thought.

* * *

_Zoro sat in his cell, legs curled up against his chest, leaning against the wall. Gone were the days where Kuzeo let him sleep in a bed; since 3 months ago he had been moved to a cell in the dungeons, all the comfort he had there was a rough, straw mattress and a few thin blankets _

'_What did I do to deserve this' He thought, while trying to keep in whatever warmth he had left in his body._

'_It's so cold!'_

_A shiver ran down his spine, making the hairs on his back stand on end. Why did Kuzeo do this to him? Why?_

"_Ah, Zoro! I see you've made yourself comfy."_

_Zoro looked up. Standing just outside the cell bars was Kuzeo with an evil grin on his face._

"_What do you want?!" Zoro snarled._

_Kuzeo chuckled._

"_I just wanted to see if you were warm enough. It's going to be a freezing cold night, you know, and apparently these dungeons make the air colder than outside!" He began laughing; a sound Zoro couldn't bear to hear._

"_Shut up!" He growled. "You'll regret this one day!" _

_Kuzeo stopped his laughter for second, only to then continue laughing harder._

"_You! You'll make ME regret this! Oh Zoro, you do make me laugh! You couldn't hurt a fly! You're just too weak!"_

_And, deciding that he'd had enough, Kuzeo turned and walked back out again, still laughing energetically._

_Now Zoro was really pissed off._

'_I'm not weak! I'll kill him some day! I swear, I'll kill him!'_

* * *

Kuzeo sat in his planning room, along with his 4 generals – and Zoro.

It had surprised him how much the other demons feared and respected Zoro. They knew he was his son – but they also knew that they hated each other. Kuzeo hadn't asked them to treat Zoro any differently from anyone else, they just did.

_Obviously he lets out that kind of aura. _He thought to himself.

"Alright, how are things going?" Kuzeo asked.

His General -in –chief answered him.

"Everything's in place, all we need to do now is make our move on the World Government."

Kuzeo nodded.

"Good, we'll do that tomorrow."

Suddenly a younger demon burst through the door.

"Master! Master!" He shouted.

"What?" Asked an irritated Kuzeo.

"We've just received reports of a fleet heading this way – they fly the flag of the brotherhood."

"WHAT!" Kuzeo jumped up, staring angrily at the man. "What do you mean a fleet!"

"Well…..it's a fleet.." The demon could think of nothing else to say.

"How many?"

"500."

"WHAT! 500!"

"Yes master."

Kuzeo stormed angrily to the window.

"The brotherhood's sent a fleet to get rid of me – ha! Not a chance!"

He turned back round to his generals.

"It looks like we'll have to delay our plan for a while. Just get rid of that fleet!"

The generals saluted.

"Hai!"

* * *

Please review (That includes you Kirsty!) 


	12. Battle

I can't believe this took so long to update, but I've been really busy with coursework and sorting out work experience.

This chapter is a little shorter than the last one - though not by much.

**WARNING: **This chapter contains scenes of graphic violence.

ENJOY!!!

**Disclaimer** - I don't own One Piece**

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**

**The Demon**

Chapter 12

The brotherhood's General-In-Chief stood at the front of his ship, staring intently at the water. Behind him, his navigator stood looking in the same direction.

"How far 'till Skull Island?" He asked him.

"I'd say around 3 hours." Answered the navigator. "Give or take."

The General nodded. Then he noticed something on the skyline; a tiny, black dot.

"Can I borrow that? He asked his navigator, indicating to the telescope. The navigator nodded and handed him the brass instrument.

Putting it too his eye, the General looked at the dot he had seen, only now it was much closer.

He gasped, dropping the telescope in shock.

"What is it?" Asked the navigator, concerned.

"Perpare for battle." Came the tense reply.

"What?!"

"You heard me, tell the men to prepare for battle!"

The navigator stood still for a moment, before turning round to the ship.

"PREPARE FOR BATTLE! ALL MEN TO THEIR STATIONS!"

He yelled at the sailors, who quickly yelled back;

"Hai!" And began running round frantically to their positions.

The General –In –Chief slowly picked the telescope off the deck and looked once again at what he had seen, as if too make sure it was real.

Demons. A whole army flying directly this way.

_At least we've drawn them out, but now we have to concentrate on surviving ourselves._

He made a quick calculation in his head as to how long it would take them to reach the fleet. 15 minutes, he decided, at the most.

_God help us._

* * *

Kuzeo looked at the girl in front of him. Bright orange hair, short skirt, tight top. She was quite attractive really, but he wasn't interested – not since Sayuri's death. She was annoyed, he could tell that. She had her arms folded across her chest, sitting on her hip and scowling at him. 

"What have you done to Zoro?" She asked, quite unkindly actually.

Kuzeo rolled his eyes. She knew what he had done to him, why did she have to ask? Was she really that stupid?

"I've taken his soul – there, are you happy now?"

She obviously wasn't. He could see her face showing lines of anger.

"But why? He's your son!"

Kuzeo shot her a curious glance.

"How do you know that?"

Realising that she'd let her tongue slip, the girl started to stare at her feet, shifting uncomfortably.

"Just a rumour…" She answered. She was a lousy liar.

"I'll say it again – how do you know that?" He asked a little threateningly, moving slowly closer to her.

"I said – just a rumour."

He frowned.

"I don't believe you."

"Then don't."

Her arrogance was annoying. Didn't she know how dangerous he was? Didn't she know he could kill her in a thousand different ways, each one more painful than the last? Obviously not.

"Listen girl, if you don't want to tell me, than fine, I'm not bothered. But don't EVER call Zoro my son."

The girl seemed confused.

"Why not?"

"Because I said so. And if you ever do it again, it will be the last thing you ever say."

His threat had worked; she looked worried now, and a little afraid of him. Good. That was the way he liked it.

With a smug face he turned and walked out of the bedroom, locking the door behind him. He had already sent Zoro to lead the attack on the brotherhood's fleet, and they shouldn't take too long to dispose of. Now all he had to do was wait.

He had gone to see Nami in a hope that she was traumatised at seeing Zoro in the state he was. She wasn't. Annoying kid. Still, there was still some time before the Straw Hats got here; maybe she will be by then.

* * *

The General –In –Chief held his gun in his hand, preparing for the impact of the demons. 

His bullets had been soaked in holy water, as had the cannon balls and steel nets. They were prepared for an attack – but they weren't ready. No one was ever ready to be attacked by a demon.

Suddenly it started. A bombardment of fire, ice, explosions, heavy weights, steel and other weapons came down on them from the heavens like a ton of bricks. The General dived behind a barrel in an attempt to protect himself. The attack lasted only a few seconds, but the result was devastating. From his hiding place, he could see the main deck. What he saw he would never forget.

Three men were being burned alive. At least ten had been decapitated, their heads littering the floor. A few had had limbs blown off, they were screaming in agony as they crawled around on the blood socked floor, trying in vain to find whatever part of their body they had lost. A man who now only had half a face and one arm was cradling what was left of his son, tears streaming down his face. Another had been attached to the mast by thin, steel spikes – one had gone right through his forehead, another his neck, and quite a few in his chest. The General recognised this man. It was his navigator.

He barely had time to take this all in before the second attack started.

This time he wasn't so lucky. A bomb hit right next to where he was keeling. Heat and pain seared through his body, causing him to scream with agony. His right arm had been completely blown off, leaving a mess of blood and skin all over the barrel behind him. But he wasn't out yet. Another torrent of spikes came flying down, just missing him by inches, followed by fireballs that hit the main mast, causing it to fall in a burning mess on the deck. Whoever happened to be standing there didn't stand a chance.

As he watched his underlings burn to death, the General realised something – this was a lost cause. Hating himself for being a coward, but knowing he was going to die anyway, the General made a decision. Run.

Without stopping to think about it, he hurriedly dived off the side and into the water. Then, not letting the cold take hold of him, he began to swim.

After swimming underwater for as long as his lungs could take it, (Which is harder than you'd think with one arm) he finally came up, and knowing he would hate it, turned around to look at the fleet.

It couldn't really be described as a fleet anymore – more like a burning pile of wood.

The demon army had completely laid waste to it; every ship was half submerged in water, the screams of the sailors still alive could be heard echoing around the sea. Then he saw them, the demons.

They came down from the clouds, where they had obviously been staging their attack, and circled the burning wrecks like a lion taunting its prey.

_Any moment now they'll finish it off. _He thought to himself.

But it didn't happen. Instead the demons seemed to part, leaving a gap for someone of higher authority to fly through.

The General couldn't see him very well, but from where he was treading water he looked like, well, another demon.

Black skin, wings - but actually, he had _green _wings.

_I've never seen green wings before._

The green winged demon flew into the middle of the wreck and lifted his hand above his head. Then, a black energy seemed to come out of it, spreading across the sky and falling onto the destroyed ships. The sailors screams had gotten more desperate now, and the few who could had jumped into the water in an attempt to escape. Then, when the energy had encased the whole fleet in a massive dome – it exploded.

The sound that it made was ear-splitting! The ferocity of the explosion was so huge that the fire spread for at least half a mile away from the original detonation point. It passed aver the demons harmlessly – as they were fire proof, but the General –In –Chief wasn't as lucky. As the fiery dragon engulfed him, his last thoughts were;

_Shit_

* * *

Diasuke looked at the smoke coming from the west. It was no doubt the battle between the demons and his fleet. He hoped they were doing alright. 

Turning to Chika and Isamu, who were standing behind him, he said;

"Don't worry, they're well trained, they can handle themselves."

Nods were the only reply he got.

"Wow! Look at all that smoke!" Came a cry from the goat's head. "I wonder what's going on there? Hey, maybe they're having a really big barbeque!"

Diasuke gave the straw hat captain's back the worst look he could muster. Trust him to think of food at a time like this!

"Actually, that's where the battle's going on." He replied.

"Really? Wow, are they using flame throwers?"

"Our side isn't – demons are fireproof – I don't know about Kuzeo's side though."

The rubber man nodded as if he understood, Diasuke seriously doubted he did though.

"How long will it be until we reach Skull Island?" He asked the navigator.

"About 1 hour. You can see it now, if you look."

Immediately everyone's head's turned towards the front of the ship. Sure enough, there was the small, black dot on the horizon. Skull Island. They had finally made it.

"I hope everyone's OK." Said Chopper.

"Don't worry! Zoro and Nami are tough. They'll be fine!" Laughed Luffy.

"Have you forgotten what's happened to Zoro?" Diasuke asked.

"Well..." Answered Luffy. "I haven't forgotten what you said, but whether I believe it or not is another matter." Then he gave one of his trademark smiles, and wondered off to the kitchen with shouts of:

"Sanji, I'm hungry!"

The brotherhood looked at one another.

"The time is almost upon us." Uttered Michiko.

Isamu nodded.

"Indeed. We should be wary – Kuzeo may have spotted us."

"I still think we should tell them." Said Chika.

Diasuke sighed in annoyance.

"We've been through this Chika, we need their support. After this is all over, if you still want them to know, then tell them. But not yet."

Chika bit her lip.

"But it's wrong. They have the right to know..."

"For God's sake Chika! Just leave It! You are under my command! You should not disobey me!" He yelled. Chika stepped back in surprise. She had never seen Diasuke so angry.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled. "It was not my place." Then she followed Luffy into the kitchen. Soon after, the rest of the group split up. However, none of them noticed an ear having appeared on the banister at the beginning of their conversation. Now, it disappeared.

* * *

"See." Said Sanji to Robin in the storage room "They're defiantly hiding something from us!" 

"Indeed." She answered, still thinking about what she had heard from her eavesdropping. "And it seems to be something that they think would stop us from working with them."

Sanji nodded.

"Yes, but what?"

"What confuses me." Said Robin. "Is that Diasuke said to Chika that she was under his command. Didn't they introduce themselves as being equals?"

Sanji thought about it.

"Yes." He said finally. "They did."

Robin sighed.

"It seems that this adventure is layered in mystery." She said, before standing up and walking out. "I will think about it, Cook-San." And with that, she was gone.

"And I think I'll have another talk with Jason." Sanji said to himself, as he went to follow Robin, her words lingering in his head:

This adventure was indeed, layered in mystery.

* * *

I know, the conversation between Kuzeo and Nami was pointless, but I needed somthing to fill the time between when the General saw the demons, and the demons attacking. 

Hope you liked it!

Please review - it would make me very happy!


	13. Letters

I can't believe it's taken me so long to update! 3 weeks! I'd like to have an excuse but unfortunatly I don't - just plain lazyness!

Anyway, this chapter's kind of short and had lots of parts to it because lots of things are happening at the same time.

If there's a change in time but not scene, I'll put OPOPOPOPOPOPOP in between the paragraphs, rather than a line.

ENJOY!!!

**Disclaimer** - I don't, and never will, own One Piece**

* * *

**

**The Demon**

Chapter 13

The straw hats docked the Going Merry in one of Skull Islands many ports and looked around. It wasn't really much of an island – more like a huge rock with a massive castle plonked right in the middle of it. The castle was creepy to say the least, made with completely black stone and with creepers crawling up the walls.

Shivering in fright, Usopp suddenly developed his 'can't-go-on-to-the-island' syndrome, and decided to stay and guard the ship. That is until Robin pointed out to him that he would be alone on the ship if the demons came back. He was suddenly cured.

"It seems the diversion worked." Diasuke pointed out as they began to walk towards the castle, looking around at the empty landscape.

"It would seem so." Replied Robin, giving the man a sideways glance. Just like Sanji, she too was interested in what the brotherhood wouldn't tell them, so she had decided to keep an eye on this man until she found out.

Cautiously, they made their way up to the castle, each footstep echoing roughly off the island's surface.

"Remember to be quiet, Kuzeo may still be inside." Diasuke warned. The rest of the group nodded, except one rubbery captain.

"ZORO!! NAMI!! ARE YOU IN THERE?!!"

The group froze and turned to face Luffy. He was shouting at the top of his lungs towards the castle.

Everyone's mouth dropped.

"HEY!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!!" He continued.

Quick as lightning, Usopp ran towards him and covered his mouth with his hands.

"Oi, Luffy! What do you think you're doing?" He whispered fiercely. "Kuzeo might be in there!"

"Good, I want to kick his ass!"

"NO! You don't want that! We want to sneak up on him remember?!"

"Impossible." Came the cold, dry voice from behind them. Slowly, the group turned around.

A tall, dark man with a black cape was stood a few metres away, his arms folded across his chest, looking quite annoyed with his new guests.

"So the fleet was a diversion? I'm ashamed to have fallen for that little trick." He spat. His eyes narrowed at the group.

"Huh? Who are you?" Asked Luffy, but the brotherhood already knew.

"Kuzeo." Whispered Diasuke.

The man laughed.

"That's right, I take it you're here to kill me?"

The brotherhood was silent.

"I AM!" Yelled Luffy. "Where are Zoro and Nami?!"

Kuzeo turned to face him.

"Ah, you must be straw hat Luffy. I didn't expect you to join up with the brotherhood – still it hardly matters."

"You haven't answered my question." Pointed out Luffy.

Kuzeo frowned.

"You mean about Zoro and Nami? Don't worry, they are safe. You can have the girl back – I have no use for her. However, Zoro is mine."

"That's not an option. I want them both back – even if I have to kill you."

Kuzeo laughed again.

"A tiny human like you – kill me?! Not a chance! You're too weak!"

"Don't underestimate me."

Kuzeo raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever. I have no interest in fighting you. You can have back your navigator, and then I suggest you leave as soon as you can." He grinned. "Make the most of the world while you still have it."

Robin frowned.

"What does that mean?" She asked.

Kuzeo turned away from the group.

"You'll see." He said, right before disappearing in a wave of black fire.

* * *

Nami sat on the bed. She was bored. Not just bored, but also worried about Zoro. She wanted to do something, but what could she do locked up in this room? Alright, so it was a very nice room – but there's only so much you can do with a mirror and a bed. Sighing, she got up and walked over to the dressing table. It was very nicely made, with solid oak wood and sliver handles, obviously very old. As a thief, she could immediately see its value, and if she wasn't locked in the house of the devil, she may have even considered stealing it. Well, by stealing it, she meant getting Zoro to carry it out the window for her – it was much too heavy for her to pick up. 

She sat down at the stool and opened the top draw, inside was a jewelled hair pin made from solid silver. She marvelled at its beauty – never had she owned anything so expensive. The person who this table belonged to must have been very well off. Cautiously, she slipped it into her pocket. Now for the next draw. Inside that was an exquisite hairbrush, also very valuable. She pocketed that too. The third draw was empty – but the fourth and final one – was locked.

Frowning, she tried pulling it open again. The draw didn't budge; it was very well sealed. Rolling her eyes, she took the pin out of her pocket. Locks didn't faze her, she had learned how to pick them years ago – but they were very annoying and took up valuable time. Slowly she placed the pin inside the keyhole and began to fiddle with the lock. In less that a minute she had the draw in her hands. She sighed, she had expected something valuable, like a diamond or ruby, but all it was were a bundle of letters.

_Why keep letters in a locked draw?_

A grin crept across her face. Letters could be very good blackmail material – not only that – but people kept very private and confidential things in them. If someone had cared enough to keep these locked up, they might be worth reading. She walked back over to the bed and made herself comfy. There were a lot to get through, this would take a while.

* * *

The group stared at the place Kuzeo had been standing. 

Scilence.

"What now?" Asked Chopper after a while.

"We go get Nami and Zoro back." Luffy answered, and began to walk towards the castle.

"No." Said Diasuke, stopping the captain in his tracks.

"Why not?" Asked Robin.

"Because Kuzeo knows we're here. We can't sneak up on him anymore."

"So?" Said Luffy. "What does that matter?"

"Unless we get Kuzeo in a surprise attack, we can't beat him. He's too strong!"

Luffy frowned.

"Didn't you hear what I said to Kuzeo? Don't underestimate me!"

Diasuke put his head in his hands.

"Look, you're going to get your navigator back – isn't that enough?"

"No."

At this point, Robin decided to intervene.

"Didn't you want to stop Kuzeo?" She said. "You won't get our help ever again – you may want to use this occasion wisely."

Diasuke looked thoughtful.

"Alright." He said after a while. "We'll go with you to the castle, try to get your nakama back and stop Kuzeo."

Luffy nodded.

"It's good to know we have your support." He said, before continuing to lead the group to the castle gates.

OPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP

Sanji looked around. Honestly! They had only been walking for 5 minutes and they'd already lost Luffy!

"Oi, Luffy! Can you hear me?!" He shouted.

"HEY SANJI! YOU LOOK REALLY SMALL FROM UP HERE!!!" Came the energetic voice of the one and only Luffy. Sanji turned around. Luffy was standing at the top of a very steep, rocky hill.

"Luffy, come down!" He shouted, but Luffy's attention had turned away from him to something he couldn't see. Sighing, he was about to climb the hill when he heard a scream from behind him.

Whipping round, he just had time to see their attacker, stare in disbelief, and then be knocked out cold.

* * *

Kuzeo walked up to the room Nami was staying in and flung open the door. He had never wanted her in there – it was Sayuri's old room, no on was allowed in it. Zoro knew that, so why had he put her there? It wasn't like there was anything she could find; it was just an empty room. Still, it didn't matter. 

He walked through the open door and found the girl sitting on the bed, looking innocently up at him. Man, that look was annoying!

"Stand up!" He ordered. Obediently she stood up. Roughly he grabbed her arm, and before she had time to protest, made them both disappear in an inferno of black flames.

A few seconds later, Nami found herself on the rocky landscape outside the castle, and standing a few meters away was…

"LUFFY!!" She yelled, running up to him. He turned to face her and gave her a massive grin.

"Yo, Nami!" He shouted, giving her a hug. "I'm glad you're O.K.!"

"Yes, I'm O.K., but Zoro…….Zoro…."

She couldn't continue, and burst into tears on her captain's shoulder.

He let her cry for a while, then:

"Nami." He said seriously. "What happened to Zoro?"

She took a deep breath and pulled away from the black haired boy.

"It's terrible." She said. "Kuzeo turned him into…….into…..a demon. Not just a demon, but a mindless one that he controls."

Then she looked down at her feet, before uttering the words;

"He hit me."

Luffy was silent for a while, his hat covering his eyes, in a way that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking. Then he spoke.

"Then it's decided. We're going to get him back."

Nami smiled. Then she noticed something,

"Um, Luffy. Where's everyone else?"

A surprised look appeared on his face, and he turned around, looking desperately for any sign of his crew.

"That's strange." He said. "They were here a moment ago."

He looked behind him.

"Ah! I know! They must have not come up the hill yet!" And with that he walked over to the top of a rocky hill he had just climbed up, and stared in disbelief at the scene in front of him.

The rest of his crew and all of the brotherhood were lying sprawled out on the floor, surrounded by blood, and standing in the middle of the mess and carnage, blood dripping from his hands – was Zoro.

* * *

Please review! I'll get the next chapter up quicker - promise!!!! 


	14. The Glowing Sword

Thanks for all the reviews you guys sent me! You rock!

This chapters quite long - took up 7 pages on word with a size 12 font!

ENJOY!!!

Diaclaimer - I own nothing

* * *

The Demon

Chapter 14

Nami stared in disbelief at the scene in front of her. Zoro was standing in the middle of his fallen nakama; blood socking his hands, seeming totally oblivious to the situation around him.

"Zoro…." She whispered. This couldn't be happening – it just couldn't! Zoro would NEVER hurt his nakama! No way!

Luffy stood in silence, his eyes hidden by the rim of his hat.

"Luffy…." Said Nami "Do something."

She knew the words were meaningless. What could he do?! Nami wanted to run down and help her friends, see if they were ok, but she didn't. She was too scared. She was scared Zoro would hurt her. Why was she scared of Zoro? She never had been before!

_I'm so confused!_

Zoro turned around and looked up at them. Nami froze in sheer fright. His eyes were so cold and penetrating. They seemed to be looking right into your soul.

He came to rest on Luffy. His mouth turned into a smirking grin and then…….he was gone.

Nami blinked. What?! He had just disappeared!

In the blink of an eye Zoro reappeared, not where he was standing before, but right in front of them; and before they could speak, he had punched Luffy in the stomach with such force he was blown at least 100m backwards.

Nami gasped and took a step back, covering her head with her arms and shrinking down to her knees, afraid Zoro was going to hit her next. But the hit never came. Cautiously, she opened an eye.

Luffy had stood up, and the two of them were staring each other down, each getting ready for a big attack. Nami didn't know what to do! Alright, so she had broken up their fight before, when Luffy had got hot-headed at Whiskey Peak, but this was completely different!

Luffy raised his fist, ready to strike. Zoro held out his arm, palm facing the sky; and ever so slowly, black energy began creeping out of his fingertips. It wound its way onto Zoro's palm and began to from a shape. Nami stared; she had never seen anything like this before!

Very soon the shape it was creating became recognisable. A sword. Nami should have guessed.

When the energy hardened, Zoro grasped the handle and raised it up. The sword was jet black, with the occasional spark of black energy flying from the blade.

_What an amazing sword!_

Thought Nami.

_I bet it's more powerful than the average steel blade._

"Zoro!" Yelled Luffy. "What are you doing?! We still have your old sword!"

But Zoro wasn't listening. Quick as lightning he moved to Luffy's side and swung his new sword. It would have sliced open Luffy's neck had he not jumped back at the last second. Before giving his captain time to recover, Zoro lunged with the sword again, this time aiming at his heart. Luffy had to once again take a step back to avoid being cut open. This happened again and again. Zoro would strike, Luffy would dodge. Zoro never gave Luffy the chance to try and fight back, not that Luffy would ever tried to, the last thing he wanted was a dead swordsman.

Nami stood and watched the fight, mouth hanging open in disbelief.

_Zoro's actually trying to kill Luffy._

She had seen immediately that Luffy wasn't fighting back, but, thought Nami, eventually he was going to have to do something; simply dodging the whole time wasn't going to get him anywhere.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw something moving. Looking down, she saw it was Robin, starting to stir from unconsciousness. As fast as her legs would take her she ran down the cliff.

"Robin! Robin, are you alright?!" She asked, kneeling down next to the bloody archaeologist and lifting her into her arms.

"Navigator-san, is that you?" Robin mumbled, her eyes only slightly open.

"Yes, it's me Robin, don't worry, you're going to be OK."

Robin smiled slightly.

"It's good Kuzeo didn't hurt you."

Nami shook her head.

"Honestly! You're worried about me at a time like this! You're the one who's badly hurt! Here, let me take a look at your wounds."

Gently she lifted the rim of the older woman's top. There was a deep, crimson gash running from her bellybutton to her hip. Nami winced, just looking at it was making her feel sick. Her eyes drifted down to Robin's leg where her shin bone was jutting out of the skin of her knee.

"How does it look?" Came Robin's weak voice.

Nami knew there was no point in lying.

"It looks bad, your leg is defiantly broken, it's nothing Chopper can't fix though."

Robin coughed, a little blood coming from her mouth.

"It was Zoro." She whispered.

Nami bit her lip.

"I know." She replied "He and Luffy are fighting right now."

A single tear fell from Robin's eye.

"How has it come to this?" She whispered.

Nami was silent for a while. There was something she needed to tell Robin, and although now was not the time, she needed her advice.

"Robin, while I was with Kuzeo, I found some letters…" Robin's eyes locked with hers.

"What did they say?"

"They were dated from 20 years ago, to a person called Sayuri, from 'The Leader'."

Robin frowned.

"The Leader?"

_Could it be the same man the demon who gave me the diary was talking about?_

Nami nodded.

"That's what it says. He's thanking this 'Sayuri' for her help with the brotherhood, and finding out how to kill Kuzeo."

Robin's eyes burst open.

"How to kill Kuzeo! Does it say how?"

Nami shook her head.

"No, listen, I'll read one of them to you."

She quickly pulled the letter from her pocket and began to read.

"Dear Sayuri, I would like to thank you for all your help, but now I fear things have gone too far. You are with child, and if you continue to help us, not only yours, but your child's life will be in danger. So long as Kuzeo continues to treat you well you shouldn't be in danger staying on Skull Island. Don't forget, you have Shiro there with you, if anything happens, he will tell us immediately. From, The Leader."

Nami stopped and looked at Robin.

"I'll read another: Dear Sayuri, it brings me such happiness to know you have found out Kuzeo's weakness. Write it down somewhere, perhaps in Shiro's diary, and after you have had your child, we'll talk more. For now, I wish you the very best of luck. From, The Leader."

"Wait…" Said Robin. "Did you say a diary?"

Nami frowned.

"Yes. Why?"

"Nami, listen to me." Said Robin urgently. "Go back to the ship and get my book, the one on demons. Bring it back here so I can read it."

"Haven't you already read it?"

"No, not all the way to the end, which is something I really need to do."

"Why?"

"Nami, that book is a diary, written by a demon working undercover for The Brotherhood. He told me to give it to The Leader, but I didn't understand what he meant – until now."

"You think it says how to kill Kuzeo!"

"Yes. I do."

Nami stood up.

"OK, I'll go get it, just hang on in there, OK!"

And with that she ran off towards the ship, all the time willing her legs to move faster.

* * *

Luffy stared at Zoro. His skin was black, his eyes were red and newly grown wings green. This was not Zoro. 

Already Luffy was covered in blood, not that he had been badly hurt, but because Zoro had given him small, shallow cuts all over his body.

He didn't know what to do. If he carried on not attacking he would be killed, but if he did attack he ran the risk of hurting his nakama.

_What do I do?_

He didn't have time to ponder on the question before Zoro moved in for another attack, the black blade seeming to come from all directions.

_I swear Zoro's got better._

* * *

Diasuke wearily opened his eyes. That damned devil child had attacked them! Now he was left with a sliced back, torn up arm and one hell of a headache. Using all the strength he could muster he pulled himself up into sitting position and looked around him. 

The idiot swordsman had gone, and everyone save the dark-haired woman was still unconscious. The woman was sitting with her back up against a rock.

"You're up." She said.

Diasuke nodded.

"Hai. Where's Zoro?"

She raised her arm, pointing to the top of the cliff.

"Up there." She said.

Diasuke heard a shuffling noise from by his side. Looking down, he saw Jason begin to stir. The boy didn't seem to be hurt that badly, thank-goodness, but he did have a nasty cut on his arm.

"Oi, Jason, you OK?" He asked.

Jason nodded.

"I think so."

They heard footsteps. Looking round they saw the navigator, what was her name? Nami, that was it. Running towards them, holding in her hands a large book. Diasuke frowned, what was the book for?

"I've got it!" Exclaimed the girl, collapsing by Robin's side and catching her breath while the archaeologist picked up the book and flicked to the last few pages.

Quickly, she began to read. Her eyes were scanning the pages so fast that Diasuke wondered if she was actually reading anything.

After a few minutes she stopped, and gasped.

"What?!" Asked Nami. "Have you found it?!"

"No." Replied Robin. "But I've found something else. It says how to reverse the ensoulment process."

Nami stared.

"So does that mean we can bring back Zoro?"

Diasuke shook his head.

"No way! It's impossible!" He cried.

"Well." Said Robin calmly. "It says how to do it here."

"Tell me, tell me!" Said Nami, so Robin read:

"I have found out something that I would never have thought possible. Kuzeo has always said how once you become a demon, there's no going back, but now, I have seen how this is not true. Kuzeo has many lovers, some are human, but most are demon. He fell in love with a demon named Sayuri, she was killed so young by some curable disease. He brought her back, and fell in love with her. But they wanted a child. Being a demon she could not have one, so he reversed the ensoulment. He gave her a new life."

"Wait!" Said Nami. "Sayuri? Could it be the girl from the letters?"

Robin shrugged.

"That I do not know, but it seems likely, after all, Kuzeo made her human again so they could have a child and it said in the letter she was pregnant."

Nami nodded.

"Yes, that's true." Then, turning to Diasuke she said; "Do you know anything about her?"

Diasuke nodded.

"Yes. Sayuri is Zoro's mother."

Nami stared.

"Oh." Was all she had to say. To break the awkward silence, Robin continued to read:

"It is a difficult process. To begin with you must have an object that the demon who is to undergo the process would protect with their life. Then you must take that object and make it glow like the sun, and while it is glowing make the demon touch it. While they are touching it say the words; 'rita gommal vi wedul', and their soul will be returned to them."

Nami stood up.

"Ok!" She said. "I'm going back to get Zoro's sword, that can be the object he would protect with his life. While I'm doing that, you think of a way to make it glow." And without waiting for a reply, she once again ran towards the ship.

_I need to hurry; I don't know how long Luffy can last fighting Zoro!_

OPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPO

Robin was stuck. She read the sentence again. It defiantly said you had to make it glow like the sun. How were they going to do that? Set it on fire?

"Excuse me?"

She looked up. The boy, Jason, came walking over to her and sat by her side.

"I might be able to help you make that sword glow." He said.

"Really? How?"

"Well……I've eaten the akarui akarui fruit. I could make it glow."

Robin smiled. She had heard that word used before on the Grand Line, it mostly had something to do with light.

"You've eaten a fruit that controls light?" She asked.

The boy grinned.

"Hai."

* * *

Luffy had made a decision. He was going to have to fight back. He didn't want to, but he really had no choice; demon Zoro was getting very angry at his constant dodging, and was beginning to read his moves. 

Knowing he was going to regret it, Luffy lifted up his arm and with a cry of;

"Gomu Gomu No Pistol!"

He punched Zoro right in the stomach.

Zoro was pushed back, but not by much, and immediately moved to stab Luffy again. This time, instead of dodging, Luffy kicked with his leg and 'Gomu Gomu No Whip!' ed his attacker.

This time Zoro really was pushed back, and ended up right by the edge of the cliff, and just as he went to attack again, Luffy noticed something behind him.

It was…..Nami! She was running up the hill! Luffy also saw Jason and Diasuke by her side.

_So they're OK! But, what are they doing here?_

"Luffy!" Yelled Nami. "When the sword starts to glow, move in front of it!"

That was when Luffy noticed Nami was carrying Zoro's sword.

"OK…." Luffy yelled back, not quite sure how a glowing sword was going to help.

But he had bigger things to worry about. Zoro slashed his sword at him again. This time Luffy jumped into the air and yelled;

"Gomu Gomu No Spear!"

His attack missed Zoro, who jumped out of the way, by mere inches.

He turned to look at Nami and saw…..a glowing sword!

_WHAT!!!_

He looked again, but he had seen right, the sword was defiantly glowing! It was being held by Jason, who looked like he was concentrating very hard on something.

_Is he making it glow?_

Deciding not to ponder on the matter too much, Luffy immediately ran towards the small group and stood directly in front of the sword.

"Luffy, when Zoro attacks you, move out of the way!" Yelled Nami. Luffy nodded.

Zoro raised his sword and ran at Luffy. Just before the blade touched him, the rubber man moved out of the way, causing Zoro to continue running, and fall right into the glowing sword. The moment his body touched it, Nami yelled:

"Rita gommal vi wedul!"

Silence.

Zoro stood, swaying slightly. Nobody dared move. Then, coming from the direction of the castle, something small and slivery flew across the sky, and implanted itself in Zoro's mouth.

Silence.

Zoro's skin slowly started to turn back to its normal colour. His wings shrunk and finally disappeared and his eyes resumed their usual blackness.

His body became limp, and he fell to the ground.

"Zoro!" Cried Luffy and Nami, running up to him.

Luffy took Zoro in his arms, the same way Nami had done to Robin.

"Oi! Zoro! Are you OK?"

Zoro's eyes flickered open.

"Luffy?" He muttered.

A giant grin spread across Luffy's face.

"Nami! He's OK!" He yelled.

Nami put a hand to her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

_He's Ok! He's OK! Thank God! He's OK!_

Zoro was becoming more awake now, and managed to sit himself up, hands massaging his head.

"How? How am I still alive?" He asked, more to himself than anyone else, staring at his hands to make sure they weren't still black.

He slowly looked around at his surroundings, and came to rest on Diasuke. His eyes grew wide and he frantically tried to shuffle backward.

"Luffy! What's he doing here?!" He yelled.

Luffy frowned.

"Who?" He asked.

"Him! That…that…murderer!" He cried, pointing at the man standing with a smug grin on his face.

"Murderer? What do you mean Zoro?" Asked Nami.

The answer she got was not what she was expecting.

"That man…..that man killed me!"

* * *

What do you think? I'm writing this at 11 O'Clock at night, so sorry if it's a bit bad, but I really wanted to get to the point when you find out Diasuke's secret!

Don't forget to review!


	15. Interupted Meeting

Sorry it's taken so long to upload, I've been on holiday the past week.

Vice-Admiral Tsuru may seem a bit out of character in this chaper, but that's because I've never actually seen her say anything, so I'm imagining how she might act when put in this situation.

Vice-Admiral Garson is a character I made up, he doesn't actually exist.

Disclaimer - Still don't, never will

* * *

The Demon

Chapter 15

Vice-Admiral Tsuru had called a meeting. She had investigated the file on Zoro herself, getting her most trusted marines in the East Blue to go to the graveyard where he was supposed to be buried. Once there, she had them dig up the grave. In the coffin they found – nothing. It was empty.

She then had others investigate the whereabouts of the Straw Hat crew. They had been sighted on Richo Island, a small, quiet island in the Grand Line.

She was still confused, if Zoro was dead how come he was…well….alive? Her first thought was that the current Roronoa Zoro had taken a dead mans name, but when her marines asked the dead mans friends for a description, it matched Zoro's completely.

So in confusion she had called a meeting. Sitting round the solid oak table was one other Vice-Admiral, 2 Commodores and 1 Captain. She knew only two of the officers in front of her. Vice-Admiral Garson and Captain Smoker. She quite liked Smoker; he was a fair man who didn't follow the 'absolute justice' of the Marines, but preferred to do things his own way. The reason she had called him here personally was because he had met the Straw Hats (and more specifically, Zoro) before and was intent on capturing them.

"Alright Tsuru, what's this about?" Asked Garson, in a somewhat bored voice.

Tsuru frowned; she despised this man. He thought he was the best and, even though he was only 40, also thought he had more experience than her, in fact, his whole attitude in general annoyed her.

"Well, it's complicated to explain." She started. "Basically, Roronoa Zoro is dead."

This got the group's attention.

"What?!" Said Smoker. "How?!"

Tsuru sighed. The group thought she meant that Zoro had just recently been killed, rather than supposed to be dead but still alive. She was going to have to explain.

"He was killed 4 years ago, on a small island in the East Blue."

Now the group was silent.

"Ummmmmm………….Tsuru…….are you sure that wasn't just someone else called Roronoa Zoro? I'm sure he's not the only person with that name." Said Smoker in an almost sympathetic voice.

Out of the corner of her eye Tsuru noticed Garson and the Commodores trying hard not to snigger. She felt her cheeks start to burn.

"Actually Smoker, my men have been investigating it. The coffin that he is supposed to be in is empty and the description of the dead man matches Zoro exactly – even the 3 swords and black bandana. Also, the man was buried with one of his swords, that is now missing. It was a very valuable sword, a masters blade with the name 'Wadō Ichimonji'. We are currently investigating whether Zoro has this sword on him now."

Smoker frowned.

_Didn't Tashigi say something about one of Zoro's swords? _

"Even so." Snorted Garson. "This is no proof that Zoro has come back from the dead. Just the thought of it is ridiculous!"

"Actually." Said Smoker. "I think Tashigi knows something about one of Zoro's swords, it might be relevant to this investigation."

Tsuru was surprised. She had never met Sergeant-Major Tashigi before, but it was well known among the Marines that she was Smoker's young protégé, or more unkindly, Smoker's dog. However, despite the other Marines taking a dislike in her, Tsuru had nothing but respect for the girl. After all, she knew how hard it was to get people to take you seriously if you were a woman in this male-dominated world of the Marines. If Smoker had said she may know something about Zoro, she may be worth listening to.

"Alright, bring her in." Tsuru ordered, Smoker nodded and went out to fetch his underling.

Garson burst out laughing.

"Honestly Tsuru! You're actually going to listen to that girl! Everyone knows she's nothing more than Smoker's dog! Not even worth noticing!" And he continued his laughing fit.

Tsuru could see the Commodores shifting uncomfortably in their seats. They had obviously heard about Tashigi too, but they had manners, and didn't like to hear their superior talk about a subordinate like this, especially one he knew hardly anything about. Tsuru decided to put a stop to it.

"Look here! If you can't maintain a professional attitude during this meeting I'll have you out! You will not insult a fellow officer like that whilst in my presence, do you understand?!" She yelled at him.

The Vice-Admiral looked surprised for a second, then his face resumed its usual smirk.

"I understand." He said.

Just then Smoker came back through the door, followed closely by Tashigi.

Tsuru eyed up the girl. She was of average height with blue-black hair cut in a neat bob. She was dressed respectably in blue trousers and a white shirt, with her Marine jacket over the top. Hanging off her hip was a very well made, and obviously very valuable, green and white sword. She seemed like the kind of person you wouldn't notice in the street, the kind to blend into the background.

_I wonder why everyone has such a problem with her, she looks fine to me._

Tsuru thought as Tashigi gave the table of superiors a well-practiced salute.

"Here Tashigi, sit down." Said Tsuru, while offering her a chair.

"Thank-you." Answered the younger girl, and sat down.

As she was sitting down, something clicked in the back of Tsuru's mind.

_I've seen this girl before._

She thought, and yet, she couldn't remember where. She certainly hadn't met her officially; she would remember that, she might have seen a picture of her maybe? But no matter how hard she tried, Tsuru couldn't remember how she recognized Tashigi's face.

"Alright." Tsuru continued. "Smoker tells us you know something about one of Zoro's swords."

This statement surprised the Sergeant-Major, who obviously wasn't expecting to be called here to discuss a pirate's swords.

"Um, yes." She answered. "What do you want to know?"

"Can you tell me what one of them is called? It's a white masters blade."

"Of course!" Replied Tashigi. "Wadō Ichimonji."

The table fell silent. All eyes were now fixed intently on Tashigi, who shrank back in her seat.

"Was that the wrong answer?" She asked quietly.

Tsuru grinned.

"No, not at all. Infact, it was a perfect answer."

Garson shook his head.

"I don't believe this Tsuru! Did it ever cross your mind that Zoro dug up the body of the dead man, stole his sword and took his identity?!"

"If that's the case then how come the picture we have of the dead man as a child looks exactly like……" Tsuru's voice trailed off before she could finish her sentence. Smoker frowned. The woman had just realized something; something had clicked in the back of her mind.

Tsuru slowly turned to Tashigi.

"You know Zoro, don't you?" She said.

Tashigi frowned.

"I met him in Lougetown, I didn't know who he was at first and-"

"-No!" Tsuru cut off. "I mean when you where a child, you where friends with him."

"What!" Cried Tashigi. "Of course not! I'd never even seen him before Lougetown!"

"Oh really! Didn't you go to the same dojo as him?" Said the Vice-Admiral cynically.

"No!" Replied Tashigi. "I didn't even go to a dojo!"

"Then how come I have a picture of the two of you together?"

"It must be someone else!"

Then Tashigi remembered what Zoro had said to her after their fight;

"_I can't stand the fact that you exist! Listen! That face of yours! It's exactly like my friend who died a long time ago! And now you're even saying the exact same stuff she did! Quit imitating her, you copy-cat woman!"_

"Listen." Said Tashigi. "Zoro told me he had a friend who died a long time ago, who looked exactly like me. It was probably her you saw in the photo."

Tsuru fell silent for a while, thinking this through.

"You know…." She said. "If what you said is true, then it means that the Zoro sailing with the Straw Hats HAS to be the Zoro who's dead. They HAVE to been the same person – otherwise it doesn't make sense."

Smoker nodded, Garson however, was more skeptical.

"I still don't believe it. That kind of thing just isn't possible."

"What are you on about?" Snorted a Commodore. "This is the Grand Line for God's sake!"

Garson reddened.

Then a new voice came from the back of the room.

"My, what a lovely place this is!"

Everyone swiveled round. Leaning with his back against the chamber wall was a tall man with black hair and long, black cape.

"Who the hell are you?!" Yelled Garson, whilst standing up and drawing his pistol.

"My name," Answered the man. "Is Kuzeo."

* * *

Luffy and Nami stood in shock, staring at Diasuke, who had a smug grin plastered on his face. Neither could believe what Zoro had just said; 

"_That man…..that man killed me!"_

And yet Diasuke was making no move to deny the accusation, in fact, he looked rather proud of himself.

"Is this true?" Asked Luffy.

Diasuke nodded.

"Yes, every word."

Luffy's hands curled up into tight fists.

"And yet you've been acting like our friend this whole time!" He yelled.

"That is correct."

"Why?"

"I knew that if you found out you would no longer work with us."

Luffy shook his head.

"That's not what I meant."

Diasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant, why did you kill Zoro."

"Because he is Kuzeo's son. At first we only kept an eye on him, to make sure he wasn't following in his fathers footsteps. So when we heard about the whole pirate hunting business, we had to kill him. He was becoming too evil."

This time it was Zoro (who had overcome the shock of seeing Diasuke), while nursing the wound on his arm where he had fallen onto the sword, who answered back.

"You know nothing about me! How dare you say I'm like Kuzeo!"

"But," Said Diasuke. "Doesn't it just prove you're evil if you made a deal with him in the afterlife?"

At that comment, Zoro began shaking with anger.

"I made that deal because I needed to fulfil a promise, a promise I haven't fulfilled yet! She was too innocent for Kuzeo to have any interest in her – so she couldn't come back! But I can, so I'll still keep my end of the deal!"

Nami gasped. Zoro had never been so open about his feelings before – or his past, why was he saying this?

Diasuke grinned.

"Yes, I know. Kuina, right?"

Zoro frowned.

"How did you know that?"

"I told you we kept an eye on you, right from the moment you left. But there is one thing I'm interested in."

"What?" Asked Zoro wearily.

"Why did Kuzeo choose now to bring you back?"

Zoro grinned.

"What makes you think I'd tell you that?"

Daisuke's face showed signs of anger at this statement, but of course, he could do nothing about it; Zoro was a lot stronger now than he was 4 years ago – if they were to fight again, he had a feeling he wouldn't be the victor.

"Zoro, Nami." Said Luffy. "We're leaving."

"WHAT!" Yelled Diasuke. "But you can't do that! You agreed to fight Kuzeo!"

"I have my nakama back, what reason would I have to fight Kuzeo? Especially if the only reason I'm dong it is to help someone who's killed, lied, backstabbed and betrayed my nakama!" Luffy yelled. Diasuke could think of no answer for this, after all, it was Luffy who was in the right here, not him.

"Please Luffy…" Came a weak voice from behind Diasuke. The group turned round. There was Michiko, who had obviously just gained consciousness, crawling up the hill. Zoro felt a pang of guilt when he saw her. The girl was badly beaten up, in fact she looked on the verge of death, and it was all his doing.

_Shit! How could I do such a thing!_

Alright, so he had killed before, but he had never harmed the innocent – and that's what this girl was. Innocent.

"Michiko!" Yelled Diasuke, running up to her. "Are you OK?" The girl nodded.

"Yes." She said weakly. "I'm fine."

_An obvious lie._

Then she turned to Luffy.

"Please Luffy, you have to help us! I know we've done wrong, but what Kuzeo is planning to do – no, in fact what he's doing right now – will effect everyone! He wants to make the world his own, turn it into a land of everlasting darkness. Only the few he chooses will stay alive. Please Luffy, Zoro! You have to do something!"

Luffy and Zoro stood there, on the rocky stone ground, trying to take in what Michiko had just said. She had a gift, a gift that allowed her to see into the future, and if what she was saying was true – it was bad news for everyone. They couldn't just sit around and do nothing.

Luffy smirked.

"Hey Zoro, fancy saving the world again?"

Zoro smiled back.

"It seems to be what we do best, captain."

Nami grinned at her two crewmates. Whenever she saw them like this, so caught up and ready for battle, something welled up inside her. Pride. She was so proud of her nakama. Whenever they defeated an enemy, whenever they pushed themselves to the absolute limit, whenever they should have, by all accounts, been dead, they continued fighting. Even though the rest of the crew was down, these two would take their places for them – they would win this fight.

_Kuzeo won't know what hit him._

* * *

People have asked me not to put so many cliff hangers in, so I've tried not too. Tell me if you think it's still a cliff hanger and I'll try to correct it in the next chapter. 

**Read This: **It's up to you lovely readers to decide! Who will be the hero - Luffy or Zoro? I can write it to go either way, so tell me in the review and whoever gets the most votes will become the hero!

Don't forget to review!


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